Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices.
Theodor AdornoRead
Intelligence is a moral category.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that intelligence is not just about cognitive ability but is also tied to moral values and ethical considerations.
Theodor Adorno's assertion that 'Intelligence is a moral category' emphasizes the idea that intelligence should not be viewed merely as an intellectual capability or an accumulation of knowledge. Instead, it highlights the ethical implications of how intelligence is applied in society. Adorno believes that intelligence, when divorced from moral responsibility, can lead to harmful outcomes, thus urging us to consider the moral dimensions of our intellectual pursuits and decisions.
Themes
IntelligenceMoralityEthicsKnowledgeResponsibility
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on education, one could use this quote to argue that teaching should also focus on moral reasoning.
More from Theodor Adorno
All quotes βWhat can oppose the decline of the west is not a resurrected culture but the utopia that is silently contained in the image of its decline.
Theodor AdornoRead
Wrong life cannot be lived rightly.
Theodor AdornoRead
Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: theyβre only animals.
Theodor AdornoRead
The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available.
Theodor AdornoRead
The culture industry not so much adapts to the reactions of its customers as it counterfeits them.
Theodor AdornoRead
Similar quotes
If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.
William ShakespeareRead
I think Hollywood has a class system. The actors are like the inmates, but the truth is they're running the asylum.
Robert De NiroRead
Pope had been flattered till he thought himself one of the moving powers of the system of life. When he talked of laying down his pen, those who sat round him intreated and implored; and self-love did not suffer him to suspect that they went away and laughed.
Samuel JohnsonRead
This moment! - this here-now - is forgotten when you start thinking in terms of achieving something. When the achieving mind arises, you lose contact with the paradise you are in.
RajneeshRead
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!
William ShakespeareRead
The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it, under extraordinary circumstances.
Paulo CoelhoRead