Refusing the ‘Foolish Wisdom of Resignation’: Kaupapa Māori in conversation with Adorno

Abstract

Drawing on select works of Adorno, we will first rehearse his reasons for a rejuvenation of philosophy and apply them to philosophers working on world philosophical traditions. We will then analyse Adorno’s arguments pertaining to the theory–praxis relation to ascertain whether his thought could accommodate a study of world philosophical traditions for the simple reason that they are present in a particular society. Shifting our focus slightly, we reflect upon how current ways of professional philosophizing affect the study of world philosophical traditions. As the example of Māori philosophy demonstrates, current philosophical practices seem to delimit the search for the unconventional in academic philosophy. Through its philosophical appropriation, the so-called unconventional tends to mimic conventional patterns in academic philosophy. We will then attempt to find reasons to critique this process within the Adornoian framework itself. The conclusion draws together different strands of the discussion and delineates some paths to take forward the world philosophies project in an Adornoian spirit.

Bodies and Publics in Two Discourses

“…Indeed, deploying these resources for conceptual and intellectual decolonization may impact the use of these resources in the future (see Steinmetz, 2006; see Kirloskar-Steinbach & Mika, 2019). In fact, this specific use may have substantial consequences for the philosophical canon as we understand it today, and perhaps even for debates in Germany's contemporary multicultural society.…”

The End of the Dream: Postmodernism and Qualitative Research

“…Let us add in this context that in our reading of postmodernism, Foucault's methodological Whiteness itself (see Lazreg, 2017) will need a recontextualization (for one such attempt at recontextualizing a canonical figure, see Kirloskar-Steinbach & Mika, 2020). The following section homes in on the problem of how to teach research methods once we accept that "the methodology" cannot tell us what to do.…”