Well, you obviously misunderstood. On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 2:27 AM, John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Perhaps a simple misreading. But I have never liked calling anyone stupid. > > John > > On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 10:21 AM, Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx> > wrote: > >> Hm... are you sure that you read what I wrote ? Or was it a deliberate >> misreading ? >> >> O.K. >> >> On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 2:07 AM, John McCreery <john.mccreery@xxxxxxxxx> >> wrote: >> >>> For the same reasons that we do not say of those who make it the central >>> business of their lives to read the Holy Quran or the Holy Bible stupid. >>> One, it is not polite. Two, there have been some very smart people who have >>> followed this path. Three, how they came to make whatever it is the central >>> business of their lives is a fascinating question. Four, failure to find a >>> shared vocabulary of motives may leave only fight or flight as options. >>> Four is, quite likely, not terribly relevant to devotees of Heidegger, now >>> a small group armed only with an odd vocabulary. On the other hand, if one >>> of them writes the next *Mein Kampf *and a new generation of right-wing >>> populists take up the cause..... >>> >>> John >>> >>> On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 9:00 AM, 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. >>>> >>>> O.K. >>>> >>>> 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 >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> John McCreery >>> The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN >>> Tel. +81-45-314-9324 >>> jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx >>> http://www.wordworks.jp/ >>> >> >> > > > -- > John McCreery > The Word Works, Ltd., Yokohama, JAPAN > Tel. +81-45-314-9324 > jlm@xxxxxxxxxxxx > http://www.wordworks.jp/ >