© 2023. Environmental Philosophy 20:1 pp. 1– All rights reserved. ISSN: 1718-0918 doi: Michael J Reno, University of Mary Washington, E-mail: mreno@umw.edu Adorno on the Possibility of Nature 1 Michael J. Reno Abstract: I present an interpretation of Adorno’s concept of nature that prompts a confrontation with both the domination of nature and the roman- ticization of nature. This interpretation would situate a normative stance toward human engagement with nature not in the idealization of a pre-so- cial or pre-human nature, but in the (missed) possibilities of past human engagements with non-human nature. Experience of art, such as Edward Burtynsky’s photography, can push us toward such a stance. This stance forces a reconsideration of the dominant form of self-preservation in most contemporary societies; nature cannot be realized until our species under- stands itself as a species. I n large part, Adorno’s thinking about the environment has been ignored by mainstream environmental philosophy in North America. Tis is likely the result of two factors. First, Adorno’s writing is nearly impenetrable to the un- initiated. Second, though Adorno does write about nature, it is nearly always in the context of thinking through concepts like natural history, which, for Adorno, are touchstones for thinking about philosophy itself as well as the pos- sibility of human liberation. Here, I aim to highlight Adorno’s thinking about nature in a way that is useful for theorizing contemporary practical problems and in a way that remains in touch with Adorno’s methodology and conceptu- alizations of traditional philosophical terms. In what follows, I present an interpretation of Adorno’s concept of nature. To situate this interpretation, I give a brief summary of Adorno’s early lecture, “Te Idea of Natural-History.” Tere, we see Adorno’s method for understand- 1. I am indebted to the anonymous reviewers for their careful and insightful commentary on an earlier draf.