THEODOR ADORNO MINIMA MORALIA REFLECTIONS ON A DAMAGED LIFE
MINIMA MORALIA REFLECTIONS ON A DAMAGED LIFE Theodor Adorno Translated from the German by E. F. N. Jephcott VERSO London· New York
a d promise Originally published as Minima Moralia by Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1951 O Suhrkamp Verlag 1951 Translation first published by New Left Books 1974 O NLB 1974 This edition published by Verso 2005 All rights reserved The moral rights of the author and translator have been asserted 3579108642 UK: 6 Meard Street, London WIF OEG USA: 180 Varick Street, New York NY 10014-4606 wwversobooks.com Verso is the imprint of New Left Books ISBN184467-051-1 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Printed and Bound in the United Kingdom by Bookmarque
Dedication 75 RT O For Marcel Proust 2 Fish in water 23 How nice of you, Doctor 25 Antithesis 26 They, the people 28 If knaves should tempt you 28 Promise me this, my child 3o With all my worldly go ter elp and counsel 33 Le Le nouvel aware 35 On the dialectic of tact 35 Propn Refuge for the homeless 38 Do uwwelpeter 4o Articles may not be exchanged Baby with the bath Plurale Tough baby 45 To them shall no thoughts be English On parle francais 48 Dwarf fruit
Pro doma nostra 5o Briefer expositions 98 Cat out of the bag 52 Death of immortality 100 Savages are not more noble 5 Morality and style Out of the firing-line 53 Not half hungry 102 Johnny-Head-in-Air 56 Melange Back to culture 37 Unmeasure for unmeasure 103 The Health unto Death 58 People are looking at you 105 This side of the pleasure principle Little folk 105 Invitation to the dance 62 Uninformed opinion 106 Ego is ld 63 LOs 108 Always speak of it, never think of it65 Second harvest 109 Inside and outside 66 Deviation 113 Freedom of Unfair intimidation 6g Mammoth 415 Chilly hospitality For Post-Socratics 70 Gala dinner I How sickly seem all growing things'zI Auction 119 On the morality of thinking 33 Over the hills 121 De gustibus est disputandum 35 Intellectus sacrificium intellectus 722 For Anatole France 76 Diagnosis 123 Morality and temporal sequence j8 Great and small 124 es distanc Vice- President 128 Timetable PART TWO Passing muster 131 Little Hans Wrestling club 133 Memento 85 ple Simon 135 Where the stork brings babies from 8: Folly of the wise 88 Institution for deaf-mutes 137 The Robbers 89 Vandals 138 May I be so bold?9o Picture-book without pictures 14o Genealogical research 91 Intention and reproduction t4l Excavation 92 All the world s not a stage 143 The truth about Hedda Gabler 93 Damper and drum 14 Since I set eyes on him95 Palace of Janus 146 A word for mo 48 Court of