From Odyssey to Cosmopolis - Movements in German Idealism and Its Critique: A New Model for Philosophical Moves

Adorno and Horkheimer revealed that Hegel had dragged thought into a labyrinth with no exit with his myth of the Absolute, and saw Odysseus as an archetype of this tendency of confinement. It has become nearly impossible to talk about the progress of Odysseus in philosophy without emphasising its similarities with those of Hegel. In this article, I will first set out the problems with Hegel’s answer to the question “What path is philosophy taking?”. Afterwards, I will show that an interpretation of Odysseus that opposes the archetype which Adorno and Horkheimer identify with Hegel is possible and how such an interpretation could create a new model for philosophical moves.