“The only imaginable motivation for what comes out of your mouth next is that it is a direct defence of your ‘side’.”
– “Of course. I AM on my side!”
“But what about truth-seeking? What about self-criticism? What about scrutiny?”
– “Mutiny?”
“No! Formulating our own harshest critique is going to be for the better.”
– “For my side?”
“Perhaps you develop a rational inclination to change your side or redefine the ‘sides’.”
– “That sounds dangerous. I don’t want to live dangerously. What happened to Weimar has forever inoculated me…”
“I beg to differ. I know the shadow of Adorno: what started out as Kantian rationality ultimately led to Auschwitz. But rationality today means we have to free ourselves from that shadow.”
– “So you are a so-called ‘intellectual’? They are just perpetuating the same old narrative, blind to the danger. I predict your ultimate argument (your ‘ultima ratio’) is esthetical, not rational.”
“Perhaps you are right. And all I am saying is we should imagine Adorno dancing.”
– “Dancing dangerously…”
“But dancing nonetheless.”