"Omar - what on earth (or elsewhere for that matter) does this comment have to do with my posting?" It has this: "You have no other choice: Either read Heidegger, despite everything, or tell yourself that philosophy ends at Kant's 'limit,' Hegel's 'totality,' or Bergson's 'recovery.'" Was I wrong in assuming that you endorse that comment ? I don't think that this is how the things stand. The 'linguistic turn' for example, has little to do with Heidegger, as far as I can make out. There is a Wittgensteinian line in contemporary philosophy, a Marxist line, a neo-Kantian line etc., which have little to do with Heidegger. On the other hand, I admit that 20st century continental philosophy is not exactly the center of my interests. O.K. On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 9:48 AM, <cblists@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > On 17 Feb 2015, at 01:00, Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > Why not just go ahead and say that everyone who does not make it his > central business in life to read Heidegger and ponder his Nazism is > stooopid. > > Omar - what on earth (or elsewhere for that matter) does this comment have > to do with my posting? (I append that posting below for the benefit of > thiose who don't wish to search the archives for something from me that may > in any way possible resonate with Omar's remark.) > > Perhaps you make it (hyperbolically) in response to something you read in > an article I recommended (while at the same time *explicitly* stating: > "Please note that 'recommend reading' is not semantically equivalent to > 'agree uncritically with the entire contents of'). > > In an earlier post [[lit-ideas] Reading Heidegger after publication of the > 'Black Notebooks'] I quote some of Bernard-Henry Levy's "Why read > Heidegger?". In a passage which I do NOT quote he goes on: > > "I tried to argue that despite the queasiness and shame one sometimes > feels when browsing a meditation on Heraclitus or Hölderlin and > encountering some tawdry episode of the German struggle decked out with all > the dignity of the majestic Event, we must continue to read Heidegger -- > especially because he is the origin of a share of the greatest, most > essential thinking of the last 50 years. > > "Examples? > > "Sartre's philosophy of the necessarily dependent freedom of the Dasein, > that light, leaping entity without substance or interiority made possible > by Being and Time. > > "The rebellions of the 1960s, the currents of anti-authoritarian and > libertarian thought whose first adversary was metaphysical ingenuousness, > currents deeming 'natural' what Heidegger had taught us to think of as > 'historical.' > > "The 'theoretical anti-humanism' of those years, the considerable capital > gain in meaning and knowledge, the inestimable increase in intelligence and > truth that he brought (yes, indeed!) to our awareness of real beings -- > this fecund shifting of lens and frame that produced a great moment in > thought, for which Heidegger provided the formula. > > "Levinas, of course, and then the second shift, subordinated to the first, > which moved not from Being to being but from being to the other. > > "Lacan, physician and philosopher, the successor to Freud, the glamorous > thinker, the diviner of that unconscious that is structured like a > language, the exploration of which reputedly follows channels opened in the > very flesh of the signifier. That, too, would have been impossible without > the oracular Cratylism of the last philosopher to have believed that words > resemble things, that the art of etymology is the royal road of knowledge > and that dialectics must give way to exegetics. > > "I could cite many other examples nearly as strong. > > "It is the entire 'linguistic turn' in contemporary philosophy suggested > by Gottlob Frege that must be considered here. > > "You have no other choice: Either read Heidegger, despite everything, or > tell yourself that philosophy ends at Kant's 'limit,' Hegel's 'totality,' > or Bergson's 'recovery.'" > > Full article at > > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bernardhenri-levy/why-read-heidegger_b_6570986.html > > Please note the quotation marks there - I am quoting another philosopher > and inviting list members to critically engage with him. (And I will be > once more explicit here: 'recommend reading' is not semantically equivalent > to 'agree uncritically with the entire contents of'.) > > Chris Bruce > in Kiel, Germany > > > > > On Mon, Feb 16, 2015 at 7:13 PM, <cblists@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > > > > Initially, I, like many others, succumbed to the (fallacious) argument > (similar to 'jump[ing] at finally having a good reason not to have to > struggle with one of the most arduous and complex of contemporary > philosophers' which Bernard-Henry Levy points out): > > > > 'Heidegger was a nazi. Therefore he had nothing of philosophical value > to say.' > > > > It was only after coming to Germany in the mid-1990's and reading of the > extraordinary impact that Heidegger has had on 'Continental' philosophy > that I thought I had perhaps better at least have a look. And I was both > reluctant and careful; I spent two years reading the biographical and > critical literature (in German, French and English) on Heidegger and nazism > before actually reading anything written by Heidegger himself. > > > > It was, in a way, the poet Paul Celan who *permitted* me to read > Heidegger at all. Celan, and then the Christian theologian Rudolf Bultmann. > > > > Bultmann and Heidegger were colleagues at Marburg in the 1920's. They > attended each other's seminars; and Bultmann appears to have been caught up > along with the others who quickly recognized Heidegger and his teaching as > something extraordinary : > > > > ". . . thinking has come alive again, the intellectual treasures of the > past, long believed to be dead, have been made to speak again, and it has > been found that they bring forth very different things than one sceptically > assumed. There is a teacher; one can perhaps learn thinking . . . that > thinking, that springs as a passion from the simple fact of > being-born-into-the-world . . . ." <1 - see footnotes below> > > > > What Heidegger did for the intellectual treasures of classical > philosophy - making them speak again in a living, passionate voice - is no > doubt what Bultmann hoped to do with the spiritual treasures of Christian > scripture and tradition. > > > > "Bultmann saw man as a questioning being in search of self-understanding > and affirmed that only the New Testament provides authentic answers to the > questions about the basis of human existence. . . . Bultmann developed a > kerygmatic theology in which the historicality of the earthly Jesus is > largely bypassed, while attention is focused on the existential > significance of the preached Christ for the hearer, who must respond in the > ever-present moment with faith (characterized as 'decision')." <3> > > > > During the Hitler years in Germany, Bultmann refused to modify his > teaching in any way to suit nazi ideology, and he supported the Confessing > Church - the German Protestant movement organized to resist nazi church > policy.<2> (Perhaps the member of the Confessing Church best-known today > is Dietrich Bonhoeffer.) Bultmann may well have hoped that an existential > ('demythologized') interpretation of Christianity would serve as some > answer to the woeful failing of much Christian theology in guiding > Christians in their 'moment' of 'decision' when faced with nazism. > > > > Celan's relationship with Heidegger is well-documented <4>; the > ambivalence of his feelings towards and about *this* 'Meister aus > Deutschland' (see note <5>) is amply evidenced in his words and actions > during their several meetings. After one such meeting in Heidegger's cabin > on Todtnauberg, Celan wrote in the guestbook: > > > > "In the cabin-book, with the view of the Brunnenstern [literally > 'fountain-star' - see note <6>], with a hope in my heart of a 'coming word' > [kommendes Wort]." > > > > Bultmann's account of his reconciliation with Heidegger after the war > has become for me *central* in striving to come to some understanding of > Heidegger's failure to speak that 'word'. Many, not just Celan, awaited > from Heidegger some account or explanation of how he had been led into > error. They awaited an *apologia*; not so much an admission of guilt and > request for forgiveness, but an explanation of what had seduced him, as a > key perhaps to understanding the seduction of so many others, and possibly > even as some small light of use for the examination, and search for a way > out, of . . . well, I can only *allude* to it as 'that horrific darkness'. > 'Das kommende Wort' was, for many, to be 'ein losendes Wort' - a word of > 'solution', of 'liberation'. Some, no doubt, even hoped (but how could > *any* man fulfill *this* expectation?) for a word of *absolution* and > *redemption*. > > > > Bultmann was well aware that they were all waiting in vain. > > > > He recounts how Heidegger called him 'out of the blue' one day in 1945: > 'Hello - it's Martin calling.' Bultmann was so little prepared to hear > from Heidegger that he responded: '*Which* Martin?' Heidegger came quickly > to the point: 'I want to ask for your forgiveness . . . .' The two met, > and the dark chasm that had yawned between them closed 'spontaneously'. > The trust - and friendship - of their days in Marburg was joyfully > renewed. They ate and drank together . . . and then when it came time to > part, Bultmann returned to the subject of Heidegger's telephone call: > > > > "'Now,' I said to him, 'you must, like Augustine, write your > _Confessions_ . . . not in the least for the sake of the truth in your > thought.' Heidegger's face turned to a petrified mask. He left, without > saying a word . . . ." <7> > > > > Heidegger's involvement with nazism is deeply troubling for anyone who > comes into contact with his writing, is forced to acknowledge its genius, > and worries about its moral integrity. Some say that Heidegger's > philosophy is a thing of evil; not only is it 'de-humanizing', but it has > corrupted much of 20th century philosophy<8>. At the other end of the > spectrum is the view that "Heidegger's philosophy is not compromised in any > of its phases [by his involvement with nazism], and that the acceptance of > it is fully consistent with a deep commitment to liberal democracy." <9> > The range of opinion is as wide as the list of works expressing those > opinions is long. > > > > Heidegger lived long enough to oversee the beginnings of the enterprise > which is still issuing the authoritative editions of his work. It is an > impressive corpus which will run to over a hundred volumes. But how much - > if any - of one's time and intellectual energy should one spend reading the > work of an ex-nazi, who made speeches counselling unquestioning obedience? > > > > Celan and Bultmann permit me to read Heidegger, but they also caution me > to go very carefully. The fact that Celan would have anything to do with > Heidegger compels me to refrain from condemning him outright; the > ambivalence of Celan's feelings warns me that there is much for which > Heidegger must ever remain on trial. I accept Bultmann's word that > Heidegger's acknowledgment of guilt was sincere; I am both saddened and > troubled (as I'm sure he was) by Heidegger's failure to fulfill the > responsibilities that followed from that acknowledgment, and that guilt.<10> > > > > It is not possible for me to convey the effect that reading and > listening (there are several hours of his talks available on recordings) to > Heidegger has had on my life. I still remember the week of ecstasy - yes, > I literally 'stood outside myself' and watched as I went about my regular > 'business', with a significant portion of my intellect locked in a posture > of critical admiration of such logical integrity - that followed my first > apprehension of Aristotle. The same ecstatic reverie is occasioned by my > ever-growing appreciation of Kant's architectonic. And there are no words > to describe those moments and places which are the (timeless spaceless) > realm attained when thinking in the purely formal (no, *not* symbolic!) > languages of logic. And for a time, such was the impact that some of the > writings of Martin Heidegger had on my . . . well, will you understand if I > leave it at 'being in the world'? > > > > When I have tried to write about this before, I have (with more than a > hint of dark irony) invoked the characters of both the 'harlequin' ("the > man has enlarged my mind") and Marlow ("the farthest point of my navigation > and the culmination of my experience") from Conrad's _Heart of Darkness_. > (I have found since that I am not the first to use metaphors drawn from > this work when talking of Heidegger.) Yes, 'the man has enlarged my mind' > is meant in a positive, adulatory way - but 'farthest point' and > 'culmination' . . . well, here the 'darkness' draws in; I am stopped and > cannot seem to get further; I don't see my way *forward* clearly, and am > gravely concerned. (Allow me a switch of metaphor here - from 'river' to > 'bridge'.) Celan and Bultmann permit me to explore the massive span of > Heidegger's work; but at the same time they caution me as I venture out and > away from familiar shores. At its heart - running somewhere close to the > center of all of his work - is Heidegger's notion of 'authenticity'. For > all that talk of a significant 'turning' ['die Kehre'] in his thought, > _Sein and Zeit_ remains the keystone of an arch that reaches from the > pre-socratic to the post-modern. And it is not just I who has, for all of > their appreciation of Heidegger's genius, remained convinced that there is > a serious flaw somewhere in the heart of that stone. > > > > - Chris Bruce > > Kiel, Germany > > > > > > <1> Hannah Arendt as quoted in Ruediger Safranski, _Ein Meister aus > Deutschland: Heidegger und seine Zeit_, Frankfurt a.M.: Fischer Taschenbuch > Verlag, 1998 [1994]. I have, for convenience, followed Ewald Osers' > translation [_Martin Heidegger: Beyond Good and Evil_, Cambridge, Mass.: > Harvard University Press, 1998] here, but have been forced to modify some > minor infelicities. English readers, Safranski, and Heidegger himself > have been poorly served by Osers' error-laden work. > > > > <2> Information from the entry for Bultmann on the _Encyclopedia > Britannica CD: 1999 Standard Edition_, Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, > Inc., 1999. > > > > <3> From Geoffrey Turner's entry, "Bultmann, Rudolf Karl", in Alan > Bullock and R.B. Woodings, ed. _The Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thinkers_, > London: Fontana Paperbacks, 1990 [1983]. > > > > <4> Safranski's account in his _Ein Meister aus Deutschland: Heidegger > und seine Zeit_ is as good as any I have read. > > > > <5> Safranski's title refers to Celan's 'Todesfugue'; in German > *everyone* is expected to recognize the reference (so much so that it is > nowhere in the book explicitly stated) which this title makes to the line > from that poem: "der Tod ist ein Meister aus Deutschland" [death is a > master from Germany]. Harvard U. Press chose instead to make reference to > Nietzsche with the subtitle of their English translation. > > > > <6> In front of Heidegger's cabin is a wooden pillar-like conduit for > water from a well, topped with a (to my mind, at any rate, 'Escher-like') > three-dimensional carving of a star. A picture of it can be seen in Paul > Heinz Koster, ed. _Deutschland deine Denker_, Hamburg: Verlag Gruner + > Jahr, 1984 [5. Auflage]. (I am compelled to note here that the account in > that book of Heidegger's involvement with nazism is not only somewhat > facile, but misleading.) > > > > <7> This account is found in many places. I have taken it from Hugo > Ott, _Martin Heidegger: Unterwegs zu seiner Biographie_, Frankfurt a.M. / > New York: Campus Verlag, 1992 [1988]. The translations are my own - I have > rendered the telephone conversation in idiomatic (but I hope felicitous) > English. > > > > <8> The most damning indictments of Heidegger's philosophy and its > influence I have seen are two books by Hassan Givsan: _Heidegger - das > Denken der Inhumanitaet: ein ontologische Auseinandersetzung mit Heideggers > Denken_ [Heidegger - the thought of inhumanity: an ontological debate with > Heidegger's thought] (Wuerzburg: Verlag Koenigshausen & Neumann, 1998) and > _Eine bestuerzende Geschichte: warum Philosophie sich durch den "Fall > Heidegger" korrumpieren lassen_ [an alarming story: why philosophy has > allowed itself to be corrupted by the 'Heidegger case'] (Wuerzburg: Verlag > Koenigshausen & Neumann, 1998). > > > > <9> Julian Young. _Heidegger, philosophy, Nazism_, Cambridge, U.K.: > Cambridge University Press, 1997. > > > > <10> It is was once my conjecture that Heidegger chose 'to pass over in > silence' this subject in order to maintain a certain - well, for the moment > I will call it 'philosophical integrity', in his 'corpus'. The man > Heidegger was fallible - this he admitted personally in his confessions of > shame (to Jaspers) and guilt (to Bultmann). But he could not bear to see > his *work* so flawed - and to this end he was even guilty of tampering (in > 'minor' but highly controversial, ways) with his manuscripts. A written, > or even publicly announced (for that, like his other public 'utterances', > would be transcribed and find its way into the corpus), 'confession' could > compromise the integrity of his work. > > > > Recent (and ongoing) publication of Heidegger's notebooks has revealed > that the matter is perhaps at once both simpler and more complex than I or > many others thought. But I continue to side with those who argue that > Heidegger's personal failings are no excuse to dismiss his writings without > critical engagement with them. > > > > Jonathan Rees expresses it as well as anyone: "Philosophy is about > learning to be aware of problems in your own thinking where you might not > have suspected them. It offers its readers an intellectual boot camp, where > every sentence is a challenge, to be negotiated with care. The greatest > philosophers may well be wrong: the point of recognising them as great is > not to subordinate yourself to them, but to challenge yourself to work out > exactly where they go wrong." [Jonathan Rees; "In Defence of Heidegger", > _Prospect_, >March 12, 2014] > > > > - Chris Bruce > > Kiel, Germany > > -- > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------ > To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, > digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html >