Abstract
This paper examines the usefulness of Theodor Adorno's (1966/2004) formulation of negative dialectics as prescriptive praxis under conditions where signifiers for humanity are made vaporous or otherwise elusive, as with current conditions of ersatz liberalism and diminished civil liberties. For exegetical purposes, this paper applies Adorno's praxis to one instance of resistance during the Nazi Third Reich that bears lingering, personal relevance to the author. The art work of the modernist painter, Georges Braque, makes entrance here to render more vivid the essential tenets of Adorno's provocative and still timely praxis.