Abstract
This article investigates the importance of the evolution of Adornos interpretation of Husserl for the formation of his own philosophy. The weakness of Husserl notion of immediate data is revealed within the light of Hans Corneliuss Transcendentale Systematik . When Adorno discovers in his Habilitationsschrift the importance of the social setting and ideological function of theory, he departs from Cornelius transcendentalism as norm for his reflection - and this insight is deployed against Husserl. Henceforth, Husserls philosophy is interpreted as idealist, as a prima philosophia , as a philosophy of identity and totality and ultimately in service of the totalitarian political tendencies Key Words: Theodor Adorno Hans Cornelius critical theory first philosophy Edmund Husserl phenomenology transcendental idealism.