Fabian Freyenhagen is a contemporary philosopher specializing in critical theory, Kantian ethics, and the practical philosophy of the Frankfurt School. He is best known for his systematic reconstruction of Theodor Adorno's negative ethics, arguing that Adorno's work yields a coherent — if dark — moral philosophy centered on the identification and avoidance of wrongdoing rather than positive prescriptions for the good life. He holds a chair at the University of Essex.
Authored 'Adorno's Practical Philosophy: Living Less Wrongly' (2013), the definitive systematic treatment of Adorno's ethics
Defended the viability of a negative ethics grounded in the recognition of wrongdoing without appeal to a positive conception of the good
Advanced scholarship on the relationship between Kantian moral philosophy and Frankfurt School critical theory
Contributed to debates on moral responsibility, deception, and the asymmetry between intentional and unintentional wrongs