---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the…"
description: "\"“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own self-consciousness. The only kind of thinking that is suffic..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg"
---

#  Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has…

![“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own self-consciousness. The only kind of thinking that is sufficiently hard to shatter myths is ultimately self-destructive.” quote by Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg)

> ““Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own self-consciousness. The only kind of thinking that is sufficiently hard to shatter myths is ultimately self-destructive.””

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The Enlightenment, while critical, has lost its own self‑awareness; only a self‑destructive mode of thought can truly dismantle entrenched myths.

**In simple terms:** Enlightenment forgot itself; radical thought breaks myths.

Key Takeaway

Cultivate self‑critical thinking.

Themes

philosophy critical theory mythology

Mood

critical introspective

Type

theoretical philosophical

When to use this quote

- academic debate
- political activism
- personal introspection

Key Concepts

self‑destruction epistemic humility

Questions to Reflect On

- Can critique exist without self‑destruction?
- What replaces myths after they’re shattered?

A Different Perspective

Self‑destruction can lead to nihilism if not balanced.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Buddhism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/) [Dialectic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialectic/) [Enlightenment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment/) [Modernism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernism/) [Modernity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modernity/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Nazism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nazism/) [Self consciousness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-consciousness/) [Self destructive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-destructive/)

## Related quotes

> [“In nineteenth century Europe (and later in other parts of the world) the transition from a subsistence to a market economy based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-burke-leacock/in-nineteenth-century-europe-and-later-in-other-parts-of-the-world/)

Eleanor Burke Leacock

> [“The ruling class is opposed to the lower class—that is, ‘closed’ to the outside—insofar as it ‘excludes, restricts, or makes admission conditional.’ It denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-oppenheimer/the-ruling-class-is-opposed-to-the-lower-class-that-is-closed-to-the/)

Franz Oppenheimer

> [ “\[Letter to his wife, Natalia Sedova\] In addition to the happiness of being a fighter for the cause of socialism, fate gave me the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/letter-to-his-wife-natalia-sedova-in-addition-to-the-happiness-of/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [“Humankind does not submit passively to the power of nature. It takes control over this power. This process is not an internal or subjective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sankara/humankind-does-not-submit-passively-to-the-power-of-nature-it-takes/)

[Thomas Sankara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sankara/)

> [“If there are no isolated phenomena in the world, if all phenomena are interconnected and interdependent, then it is clear that every social system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/if-there-are-no-isolated-phenomena-in-the-world-if-all-phenomena-are/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [“Those who have been forced to study 'dialectical materialism', the strange concoction that was supposed to form the philosophical foundation of Marxism in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-koonin/those-who-have-been-forced-to-study-dialectical-materialism-the/)

Eugene V. Koonin

> [“Lenin clearly and unambiguously poses the question of the relationship between the ‘form’ of materialism and its ‘essence’, of the impermissibility of identification of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evald-ilyenkov/lenin-clearly-and-unambiguously-poses-the-question-of-the/)

Evald Ilyenkov

> [“Adept as he was in the Hegelian dialectic — a system easy of abuse by those who seek to dominate thought by arbitrary flights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/adept-as-he-was-in-the-hegelian-dialectic-a-system-easy-of-abuse-by/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [Rhetoric completes the tools of learning. Dialectic zeros in on the logic of things, of particular systems of thought or subjects. Rhetoric takes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/rhetoric-completes-the-tools-of-learning-dialectic-zeros-in-on-the/)

[William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/)

> [I always cringe when a male friend of mine, who's very fixated on women, puts "compatibility" at the top of his list of attributes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-always-cringe-when-a-male-friend-of-mine-who-s-very-fixated-on/)

[James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/)

> [“Hegelian dialectic, or problem, reaction, solution. This method basically involves fabricating or intensify a problem, offering a draconian solution, then settling for a “compromise”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/hegelian-dialectic-or-problem-reaction-solution-this-method-basically/)

[Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/)

> [Whenever a person strives, by the help of dialectic, to start in pursuit of every reality by a simple process of reason, independent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/whenever-a-person-strives-by-the-help-of-dialectic-to-start-in/)

[Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/)

> [“Power and glory are two dialectic energies working in common ground. Taking a glimpse of the meandering under swell of glory in the shade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/power-and-glory-are-two-dialectic-energies-working-in-common-ground/)

[Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/)

> [It was not by dialectic that it pleased God to save His people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose/it-was-not-by-dialectic-that-it-pleased-god-to-save-his-people/)

[Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose/)

> [The dialectic is neither fiction nor mysticism, but a science of the forms of our thinking insofar as it is not limited to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/the-dialectic-is-neither-fiction-nor-mysticism-but-a-science-of-the/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

## More by Theodor W. Adorno

> [“Ever since Plato, bourgeois consciousness has deceived itself that objective antinomies could be mastered by steering a middle course between them, whereas the sought-out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ever-since-plato-bourgeois-consciousness-has-deceived-itself-that/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“A film which followed the code of the Hays Office to the strictest letter might succeed in being a great work of art, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/a-film-which-followed-the-code-of-the-hays-office-to-the-strictest/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Fascism was not simply a conspiracy—although it was that—but it was something that came to life in the course of a powerful social development.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/fascism-was-not-simply-a-conspiracy-although-it-was-that-but-it-was/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Philosophy, which once seemed outmoded, remains alive because the moment of its realization was missed. The summary judgement that it had merely interpreted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/philosophy-which-once-seemed-outmoded-remains-alive-because-the/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Art respects the masses, by confronting them as that which they could be, rather than conforming to them in their degraded state.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/art-respects-the-masses-by-confronting-them-as-that-which-they-could/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Even at that time the hope of leaving behind messages in bottles on the flood of barbarism bursting on Europe was an amiable illusion:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/even-at-that-time-the-hope-of-leaving-behind-messages-in-bottles-on/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“It is not so much that subjectivity is communicated or expressed by music as that in it, as in a theater, something objective is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/it-is-not-so-much-that-subjectivity-is-communicated-or-expressed-by/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Paranoia is a pathological possibility built-in to all conceptual thinking, the "dark side of cognition" and the typical symptom of the "half-educated."20 Anti-Semitism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/paranoia-is-a-pathological-possibility-built-in-to-all-conceptual/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“even there, where the rejection of the system is taken for granted and for that reason a lax and cunning conformism of its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/even-there-where-the-rejection-of-the-system-is-taken-for-granted-and/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“The subjectivist approach to art simply fails to understand that the subjective experience of art in itself is meaningless, and that in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/the-subjectivist-approach-to-art-simply-fails-to-understand-that-the/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“One should never begrudge deletions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/one-should-never-begrudge-deletions/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Divertir-se significa que não devemos pensar, que devemos esquecer a dor, mesmo onde ela se mostra. Na base do divertimento planta-se a impotência. É,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/divertir-se-significa-que-n-o-devemos-pensar-que-devemos-esquecer-a/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Since death, as the existential horizon of Dasein, is considered absolute, it becomes the absolute in the form of an icon. There is here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/since-death-as-the-existential-horizon-of-dasein-is-considered/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [“Beauty today can have no other measure except the depth to which a work resolves contradictions. A work must cut through the contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/beauty-today-can-have-no-other-measure-except-the-depth-to-which-a/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

> [The element of truth in the concept of genius is to be sought in the object, in what is open, not confined by repetition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/the-element-of-truth-in-the-concept-of-genius-is-to-be-sought-in-the/)

[Theodor W. Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

[Explore all 21 Theodor W. Adorno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/)

## More Buddhism quotes

> [There are places that are very draining. There are places where there is another dimensional crossover but to a dimension that is not powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/there-are-places-that-are-very-draining-there-are-places-where-there/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Enlightenment is lightening up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-myers/enlightenment-is-lightening-up/)

[Mike Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-myers/)

> [The very best players, when they are practicing, put everything they've got into it. But then they leave it for a while. And it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/the-very-best-players-when-they-are-practicing-put-everything-they-ve/)

[Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/)

> [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Nirvana is a word that means enlightenment, being beyond the illusion of birth and death, the illusion of pain, the illusion of love, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/nirvana-is-a-word-that-means-enlightenment-being-beyond-the-illusion/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/)

[Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/)

> [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/)

[Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/)

> [My mom and my aunties are really devout Christians. My mom married a Muslim when I was 12, so I got teachings from both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tech-n9ne/my-mom-and-my-aunties-are-really-devout-christians-my-mom-married-a/)

[Tech N9ne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tech-n9ne/)

> [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [“The extraction of discrete parts of Chöd teachings from their broader philosophical contexts is symptomatic of how Chöd has been incorporated into and transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-sorensen/the-extraction-of-discrete-parts-of-ch-d-teachings-from-their-broader/)

[Michelle Sorensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-sorensen/)

> [Buddhism advises you not to implant feelings that you don’t really have or avoid feelings that you do have. If you are miserable you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/buddhism-advises-you-not-to-implant-feelings-that-you-don-t-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“That's all there is, enlightenment on the end of a cock. It doesn't get any more Zen than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaden-wilkes/that-s-all-there-is-enlightenment-on-the-end-of-a-cock-it-doesn-t-get/)

[Jaden Wilkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaden-wilkes/)

> [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/)

[Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/)

[Browse all 6,100 Buddhism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own self-consciousness. The only kind of thinking that is sufficiently hard to shatter myths is ultimately self-destructive.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Theodor W. Adorno"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enlightenment-has-extinguished/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Buddhism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enlightenment-has-extinguished/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/538/theodor-w-adorno-19590_buddhism_ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enli_478694.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the Enlightenment has extinguished any trace of its own…” — Theodor W. Adorno",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Theodor W. Adorno",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-w-adorno/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Ruthlessly, in despite of itself, the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enlightenment-has-extinguished/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-w-adorno/ruthlessly-in-despite-of-itself-the-enlightenment-has-extinguished/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```