On the Concept of Non-Identity in Adorno’s Negative Dialectics

Abstract

The concept of non-identity is not only one of the most important concepts in Theodor W. Adorno's work, Negative Dialectics, but also one of the most enigmatic. To a large extent, this enigmatic character stems from an ambiguous or oscillating use of the term in the work. The Frankfurt thinker uses the concept both to refer to the non-identity between the concept and the conceptualized object as social critique – indicating that concepts are socially necessary appearances of an illegitimate situation – and to indicate the non-identity between the concept and the conceptualized object as a critique of knowledge, demonstrating that the object exceeds what its concept can encompass while the concept also exceeds its object. In this article, I defend the thesis that this oscillating use of the term arises from a problematic interpretation of Marx's theory of surplus value, which allows Adorno to link the critique of ideology (non-identity between the concept and the conceptualized object as social critique) with the critique of fetishism (non-identity between the concept and the conceptualized object as critique of knowledge). This interpretation is crucial to justify the thesis of the proto-kinship between the exchange principle and the identity principle, bringing consequences for Adorno's project of uniting social critique with the critique of knowledge.