"What Philosophy Would Have to Be…: On Theodor W. Adorno and Walter Benjamin"

This chapter aims to provide an overview of Adorno’s ‘philosophical friendship’ with the philosopher, critic, and translator Walter Benjamin. For this purpose, it considers the complex personal and intellectual entanglements connecting both men: from their first encounters in 1923 to the beginning of their correspondence in 1928; from Benjamin’s impact on the early writings of his ‘only disciple’, Adorno, in the period 1931-1934, to their disagreements over dialectics in the period 1935-1940; and from Adorno’s editorial efforts as the principal executor of Benjamin’s literary estate following his friend’s suicide in 1940 to Benjamin’s posthumous role in the rift between Adorno and the German Student Movement around 1968. Drawing partly on their correspondence, partly on published references to each other’s works, and partly to the wealth of historical and philological scholarship on their momentous exchange, the chapter thus argues for the central importance of Benjamin for understanding Adorno’s work and legacy.