Between tragedy and reconciliation: An attempt to reinterpret the meaning of utopia and history in critical theory

This dissertation analyzes the historical and argumentative stages of the appropriation and accompanying critique of utopian reason in critical theory. The goal is to develop a self-reflective and historically sensitive form of utopian criticism. The introduction provides an account of the recent exhaustion of utopian energies as well as possibilities to counter this exhaustion. Rather than analyzing the content of utopian projections, the dissertation focuses on the form of utopian critique. After outlining Hegel's critique of the French Revolution and romantic utopianism in chapter one, I discuss Hegel's attempt to connect utopia, the philosophy of history, and the concept of criticism in his conception of reconciliation. Chapter two reconstructs Marx's transformation of Hegel's philosophy of reconciliation into one of radical critique. Chapter three shows why Hegel's and Marx's teleological conceptions of history are problematic. It develops a critical philosophy of history that draws on Adorno's negative dialectics. The result is a form of critical holism that interprets the modern predicament as both tragic and possessing the resources for reconciliation. Both dimensions need to be seen in tandem. I draw on Adorno's critical holism to construct a normative theory that refrains from essentializing norms and does justice to the modern predicament. Chapter five defends Adorno's conception of aesthetic reconciliation against a variety of objections. In a final chapter, I show that recent liberalism has abandoned the utopian impulse and conclude that the conception of utopian criticism outlined in the previous chapters provides a promising alternative.