Conclusions

The fundamental position of Adorno and Horkheimer, in relation to the themes explored in our book, as formulated in their most significant texts of the 1940s and also considering subsequent developments up to the end of the 1960s, is based on the refutation of the enlightenment thesis, of Baconian origin, that is: the only real means of liberating humanity from the threat it perceives in nature is technical-scientific control over the environment-world. Adorno and Horkheimer refute this thesis by demonstrating that the achievement of this project of domination did not lead to any form of emancipation, but rather resulted in the worst forms of barbarism. Therefore, if we want to save the enlightenment and its potential for emancipation,1 we need to transform the concept of reason, which has crystallised as pure instrumental reason, and open ourselves up to criticism of domination and to the idea of reconciling human beings with each other and with nature.2