The Transformation of the Subject Concept in Critical Philosophy of T. Adorno

The article deals with the problem of the transformation of the subject concept in the philosophy of T. Adorno. The author uses a historical-and-philosophical approach, critical and comparative methods, exploiting the works of several representatives of the Frankfurt School. This article is structured due to the chronological list of the main works of German philosopher – from earlier works like ON JAZZ to the most significant and late NEGATIVE DIALECTICS. The study shows what concepts had been used by the German thinker throughout his work for defining the state of the human-subject in capitalistic society and for his eventual liberation. The article not only considers in detail such concepts as «cultural industry», «authoritarian personality», «constellation» and «mimesis», but also analyzes the basic concepts describing the human status within the capitalist society, which were used by the German sociologist in two different periods of his work: “the deceived subject” and “the social We”. As a conclusion, the author proposes that T. Adorno’s negative-dialectical model of the subject should be isolated into a separate, original and independent theoretical concept that does not purport to destroy the classical concept of the subject, but aims to resist the totality of capitalist society.