Abstract
In this paper, I concern myself with the notion of the aesthetic synthesis as it was developed by Theodor W. Adorno.
Although not frequently used by Adorno, this notion can be connected to Adorno's central idea of the social role of art, i.e. art's power to disclose the true nature of social reality and to point towards a better state of society. My aim in this paper is to show that Wellmer's interpretation is too narrow and to further explain Adorno's understanding of the aesthetic synthesis and its potential for representing an ideal principle of social organization.