Heidegger

Review of Bernard Alan Miller: Rhetoric's Earthly Realm

by Ira Allen

Composition Studies 40(1): 151-154.

Négativité et logos dialectique chez le jeune Heidegger

by Olivier Huot-Beaulieu

Symposium : Revue canadienne de philosophie continentale, vol. 16, no. 1, Printemps 2012.

Tout au long de sa carrière philosophique, Heidegger s’est livré à une constante explication avec Hegel, qu’il... more Tout au long de sa carrière philosophique, Heidegger s’est livré à une constante explication avec Hegel, qu’il considérait comme son plus vif antagoniste. Dans le cadre de cet article, nous entendons nous rapporter aux origines de leur différend et prendre la mesure des griefs du jeune Heidegger à l’endroit de la dialectique hégélienne. Nous tenterons en un second lieu de démontrer que son opposition frontale camoufle en fait une secrète appropriation, puisque Heidegger aurait préalablement fait sienne l’idée d’un usage productif de la négation en philosophie.

Heidegger et Deleuze, même combat ?

by Pierre-Alexandre Fradet

à paraître dans PhaenEx, vol. 8.1, mai 2013.

DE LA PHENOMENOLOGIE VERS LA PHENOMENOGRAPHIE « UNE THESE CONCERNANT LES POSSIBILITES DE CONDITIONS DE L’ECRITURE »

by Enis Memisoglu

Unpublished (and unedited) paper (2009)

W. J. Korab-Karpowicz, Heidegger's Hidden Path: From Philosophy to Politics, The Review of Metaphysics, 61 (2007).

by W Julian Korab-Karpowicz

One serious defect of the polemical writings that charge Heidegger with Nazism is that they mostly represent a poor... more One serious defect of the polemical writings that charge Heidegger with Nazism is that they mostly represent a poor knowledge of his thought. Heidegger’s writings are painfully difficult, even to specialists, and his concepts can be easily misinterpreted,especially by those who, instead of searching for truth, embrace a prosecutor’s zeal. My objective is not to blame or to exonerate Heidegger before investigating the relationship between his philosophy and politics in depth. Obviously, given the limited nature of my presentation, I cannot consider Heidegger’s entire philosophical opus. I intend to concentrate chiefly on his critique of the Western
metaphysical tradition and on an interpretation of his most controversial statement from An Introduction to Metaphysics about the “inner truth and greatness” of National Socialism. I will begin my investigation by considering a notorious episode in Heidegger’s life, namely his service as Rector of the University of Freiburg from April 1933 to February 1934. Then I move to the essence of his philosophy, the quest for the meaning of Being, deduce a political theory from his ontology, and arrive at his politics. This way I attempt to throw some new light on the Heidegger controversy and to disclose his hidden path.

"What is, is more than it is": Adorno and Heidegger on the Priority of Possibility

by Iain Macdonald

International Journal of Philosophical Studies, vol. 19, no. 1 (2011): 31-57.

Theodor W. Adorno’s critiques of Martin Heidegger are well documented and the longstanding opposition between the two... more Theodor W. Adorno’s critiques of Martin Heidegger are well documented and the longstanding opposition between the two camps remains strong. Interestingly, however, both thinkers lay claim to a notion of possibility that has priority over actuality, thereby reversing a fundamental tenet of Western metaphysics: that “actuality is prior to potentiality” (Aristotle). The present article examines Adorno’s and Heidegger’s related contributions to the philosophical understanding of modality and to a transformed concept of possibility, arguing that there is a point of intersection between their respective philosophies, such that we can no longer blithely oppose Adorno’s materialism and Heidegger’s thinking of being.

Heidegger and Adorno

by Iain Macdonald

Forthcoming in François Raffoul and Eric S. Nelson (eds), The Continuum Companion to Heidegger (New York: Continuum).

Communication or Confrontation-Heidegger and Philosophical Method

by Vincent Blok

Empedocles, Volume I (2009), pp. 43-57.

In this essay, we consider the philosophical method of reading and writing, of communication. Normally, we interpret... more In this essay, we consider the philosophical method of reading and writing, of communication. Normally, we interpret the works of the great philosophers and explain them in papers and presentations. The thinking of Martin Heidegger has given us an indication of an entirely different method of philosophical thinking. In the 1930s, he gave a series of lectures on Nietzsche. In them, he calls his own way of reading and writing a confrontation (Auseinandersetzung) with Nietzsche. We consider the specific character of confrontation, and in what ways it is different from communication. First, we develop an answer
to the question of how Heidegger reads Nietzsche. Does he give a charitable or a violent interpretation of Nietzsche and, if neither, how can his confrontation with Nietzsche be characterized? With this, we obtain an indication of the way we have to read Heidegger, indeed, of philosophical reading and writing
as such.

The Festival of an Indestructible: On Sacrifice and the Wedding in Hegel’s Phenomenology and Heidegger’s Hölderlin

by Mathias Warnes

Revised Draft. Forthcoming in 2013 in StockholmStudies in Comparative Religion, "Sacrifice and the End of Philosophy." Comments welcome and appreciated: mathias.warnes@gmail.com.

“Kontroverse über die Sprache – Die Einseitigkeit von Heideggers Auseinandersetzung mit Ernst Jünger”

by Vincent Blok

published in: Existentia, Vol. XVII (2007), pp. 19-30

In den frühen als in den späten Schriften weist Heidegger darauf hin, daß Ernst Jünger gänzlich Nietzsches Metaphysik... more In den frühen als in den späten Schriften weist Heidegger darauf hin, daß Ernst Jünger gänzlich Nietzsches Metaphysik des Willens zur Macht verhaftet ist. Er versteht das Schreiben von Jünger als ein Denken im Licht der Metaphysik des Willens zur Macht, das sich mit seinen „Beschreibungen“ in „einen Bereich wagt, für den ihm die Rüstung fehlt“.In diesem Artikel wird versucht, eine Einseitigkeit in Heideggers Auseinandersetzung mit Jünger aufzuzeigen. Heidegger zufolge bleibt Jüngers Begriff der Gestalt an das neuzeitliche Verständnis des Menschen als Subjekt gebunden. Jüngers Erfahrung der Gestalt des Arbeiters reicht aber über seine Entsprechung in Termini des Vorstellens des Subjektes hinaus. Die Einseitigkeit von Heideggers Auseinandersetzung mit Jünger wird deutlich, wenn man berücksichtigt, daß Jüngers Weise des Sprechens dichterisch ist; er dichtet die Gestalt. Das Thema dieses Artikels ist im Grunde nicht Jüngers Begriff der Gestalt, sondern die Kontroverse zwischen Vorstellung (Heidegger) und Dichtung (Jünger) der Gestalt. Heidegger soll dabei nicht einer fehlenhaften Interpretation bezichtigt werden, noch ist ihm ein verborgener Einfluß von Jünger auf sein Denken anzukreiden. Heideggers Denken über das Wesen der Kunst gibt gerade Hinweise auf die spezifische Art der Dichtung Jüngers.

Heidegger und der Nationalsozialismus oder die Frage nach dem philosophischen Empirismus

by Vincent Blok

Studia Phaenomenologica, Vol. X (2010), pp. 291-310

Heidegger and National Socialism or the question about philosophical empiricism

This contribution... more Heidegger and National Socialism or the question about philosophical empiricism

This contribution discusses the philosophical meaning of Martin Heidegger’s Rectoral address. Firstly, Heidegger’s philosophical basic experience (Grunderfahrung) is sketched as providing the background of his Rectoral address; the being-historical concept of beginning (Anfang). Next, the philosophical question of the Rectoral address is discussed. It is shown, that Die Selbstbehauptung der deutschen Universität is asking for the identity of human being (Dasein) in connection with the question about das Eigene (the Germans) and das Fremde (the Greeks). This opposition structures the confrontation with the beginning of philosophical thinking in the Rectoral address. When read against the philosophical background sustaining the Rectoral address, words that appear in it, such as “Kampf”, “Macht”, “Volk” and “Marsch”, have nothing in common with the same words as used by the Nazis. It is shown that the Rectoral address is an extremely ambiguous text, because it claims a transformation of human Dasein.

Although Heidegger’s view on National Socialism is distinguished from Nazi ideology, it is clear that he made a mistake about Hitler. The article explores how Heidegger later changed his mind and vocabulary, and in what way this kind of mistakes and changes of mind are inherent to philosophical empiricism.

Keywords: Heidegger, National Socialism, philosophical method, philosophical empiricism

“Establishing the Truth: Heidegger’s Reflections on Gestalt”

by Vincent Blok

published in: Heidegger Studies, Vol. 27 (2011), pp. 101-118

In 1936 Heidegger introduced a conception of gestalt into his own account of ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’.... more In 1936 Heidegger introduced a conception of gestalt into his own account of ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’. According to this account, the creation of a work of art concerns the bringing forth of gestalt. At first sight this seems strange because the concept of gestalt appears to be inherently metaphysical. In other texts of the same period, for example in his Beiträge zur Philosophie, Heidegger explicitly rejects the concept of gestalt. What induced Heidegger to maintain a non-metaphysical conception of gestalt in his essay on the origin of art, and why did he later reject the entire concept? What led him to change his mind? It is my hypothesis that the answers to these questions are to be sought in Heidegger’s confrontation with the thought of his contemporary Ernst Jünger (1895-1998). On the one hand, we know that Heidegger developed a strong critique of Jünger’s metaphysical conception of gestalt in the thirties. On the other hand, it seems likely that Heidegger developed his own non-metaphysical conception of gestalt in the course of this confrontation. In this article, we first inquire into Heidegger’s criticism of the concept of gestalt, which governs the metaphysical tradition (II) until the thinking of Ernst Jünger (III). We then test the plausibility of Heidegger’s destructed conception from ´The Origin of the Work of Art´ (IV). In V, we close with a critical discussion of Heidegger in relation to his subsequent renunciation of gestalt in favour of the name, of language.

AN INDICATION OF BEING-REFLECTIONS ON HEIDEGGER'S ENGAGEMENT WITH ERNST JÜNGER

by Vincent Blok

The Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology, Vol. 42, No. 2 (2011), pp. 194-208

In the thirties, Martin Heidegger was heavily involved with the work of Ernst Jünger (1895-1998). He says that he is... more In the thirties, Martin Heidegger was heavily involved with the work of Ernst Jünger (1895-1998). He says that he is indebted to Jünger for the ‘enduring stimulus’ provided by his descriptions. The question is: what exactly could this enduring stimulus be? Several interpreters have examined this question, but the recent publication of lectures and annotations of the thirties allow us to follow Heidegger’s confrontation with Jünger more precisely.

According to Heidegger, the main theme of his philosophical thinking in the thirties was the overcoming of the metaphysics of the will to power. But whereas he seems to be quite revolutionary in heralding ‘another beginning’ of philosophy in the beginning of the thirties, he later on realized that his own revolutionary vocabulary was itself influenced by the will to power. In his later work, one of the main issues is the releasement from the wilful way of philosophical thinking. My hypothesis is that Jünger has this importance for Heidegger in the thirties, because the confrontation with Jünger’s way of thinking showed him that the other beginning of philosophy presupposes the irrevocable releasement of willing and a gelassen or non-willing way of philosophical thinking.

In this article, we test this hypothesis in relation to the recently published lectures, annotations and unpublished notes from the thirties. After a brief explanation of Jünger’s diagnosis of modernity (§1), we consider Heidegger’s reception of the work of Jünger in the thirties (§2). He not only sees that Jünger belongs to Nietzsche’s metaphysics of the will to power, but also shows the modern-metaphysical character of Jünger’s way of thinking. In section three, we focus on Heidegger’s confrontation with Jünger in relation to the consummation of modernity. According to Heidegger, Jünger is not only the end of modern metaphysics, but also the perishing (Verendung) of this end, the oblivion of this end in the will to power of representation. In section four, we focus on the real controversy between Jünger and Heidegger: the releasement of willing and the necessity of a radical other beginning of philosophical thinking.

Keywords: Heidegger, Jünger, End, Will to power, Method

Der ‘Religiöse’ Charakter von Heideggers philosohischer Methode: Relegere, Re-eligere, Relinquere

by Vincent Blok

Studia Phaenomenologica, Vol. XI (2011), pp. 285-307

The question addressed in this article is to what extent a destructed concept of religion can be said to characterize... more The question addressed in this article is to what extent a destructed concept of religion can be said to characterize the philosophical method of Martin Heidegger. In order to approach this question, we first characterize his method as “Vollzug der Fraglichkeit”: philosophy in its deepest sense does not mean to give answers to questions but to ask questions. According to Heidegger, the execution of questioning consists in the “transforming repetition” of the leading question (Leitfrage) of philosophy in order to ask the basic question of philosophy (Grundfrage). In the second part of the article, we reflect on the “religious” character of Heidegger’s method of questioning. The reflection makes use of different etymological derivations of the word ‘Religion’: relegere (to observe carefully), re-eligere (to choose again), religare (to bind back), relinquere (to leave behind). In the third part of the article, we discuss what Heidegger’s “religious” method of philosophy means for present questions concerning religion. To that end, we finish with a confrontation between Heidegger and Derrida with respect to the ‘religious’ method of philosophy.
Keywords: Religion, Philosophical method, Questioning, Heidegger, Derrida

Heidegger and the Question Concerning Biotechnology

by Nathan Van Camp

Published in 'Journal of Philosophy of Life'

Heidegger and Foucault

by Leonard Lawlor

This is for the Continuum Companion to Heidegger.

Neither Inside Nor Outside: Performing the Process of Mind

by Anthony Miccoli

Under consideration for an upcoming collection

Philosophically speaking, mindedness often becomes an epistemological paradox: the mind knows itself, but only because... more Philosophically speaking, mindedness often becomes an epistemological paradox: the mind knows itself, but only because of the “otherness” of the outside it thinks it knows. This “existential sidestep” demonstrated in the work of such philosophers as Hegel and Heidegger provides important phenomenological theories of knowing and being, and influence current philosophers such as Andy Clark and related philosophies of mind. Even though current philosophies of mind do take into account the importance of exteriority, they still utilize an interior/exterior binary. It is important to re-think our concept of mind, body, and world in a way that does not rely on metaphors of interiority and exteriority. Instead, we should think in terms of mind as a process which happens across topological substrates, in modalities which are informed by the unique material landscapes which we occupy. Building upon the work of Hegel, Heidegger, and Clark, this chapter will show that the mind is a process which encompasses the sum total of the exterior spaces the body occupies; and cognition is a function of topologically-informed performative acts which manipulate those spaces.

What is Absolute Truth? (in English) 2012

by François-Igor Pris

Comments and notes

This paper was inspired by criticism of pluralism and relativism about truth, offered by Pascal Engel in (Engel 2011).... more This paper was inspired by criticism of pluralism and relativism about truth, offered by Pascal Engel in (Engel 2011). We discuss the main points of his talk in terms of our understanding of the later Wittgenstein. We share the essence of Engel’s absolutist thesis about truth and give it our interpretation in terms of the notion of family resemblance.

Why Mood Matters

by Matthew Ratcliffe

Penultimate draft of my contribution to the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Being and Time

Homoerotik und Jenseitssymbolik - das selbstfressende Selbst als megalomanes Verfallsaxiom mehrfach kategorisierter Spezialhermeneutik

by Martin Jacob Schaunpeter

1990