The labour of the negative: Hegel and Adorno

Hegel's philosophy occupies a relatively privileged position in Adorno's thought, but like many Marxists his relation to Hegel is equivocal. Although he is indebted to Hegel for articulating the negative and dialectical nature of experience, he is critical of the positive and undialectical character of Hegel's speculative idealism. The genuinely dialectical for Adorno always remains negative. This thesis outlines the basic concepts of Hegel's description of experience and examines Adorno's critique, particularly in connection to the Phenomenology of Spirit. An argument is developed that defends the spirit of Adorno's Marxism while criticising certain aspects of his claim that Hegel cuts dialectics short.