wilton rodger wrote on Wed, 22 May 96 05:31:55 -2400
> The exchange re Husser/Heiddegger warrants some clarification.
> H was a Nazi,that is indisputable.That makes me feel quite
> uncomfortable.
> Name
> one other Nazi who is studied seriously today.Now to state that the
> business of the man has nothing to do with his work is -a
> position.
> I would suggest that a philosopher in the service of the Reich
> has some explaining to do.Is ontology so divorced from history?
Just a few remarks:
1. The Heidegger/Husserl relationship started to break when
Heidegger published Being and Time. Husserl then realized, that
Heidegger was not the phenomenologist, that he had expected him to
be. They parted over philosophical matters. Heidegger claims he never
signed an order that refused Husserl any access to the libraries in
Freiburg, and such an order bearing Heideggers signature has never
been found. The historician Hugo Ott found other letters that are
equally bad, so he concluded, that Heideggers evidence should be
accepted. Since there is the dedication to his great teacher even in
the 1935 edition of Being and Time (which is after the notorious
order), and the attempt to place it in the 1942 edition, where it was
omitted under pressure, as Ott proved, it very unlikely, that
Heidegger referred to Husserl as a non-aryan, as you earlier claimed.
If you could deliver the origin of that quotation, I would be very
grateful, since it would probably change my views on that matter.
2. Whoever was professor of anything during the nazi-period was
certainly not neutral, and all those who did not show their
disaproval are at least unser suspicion. Heidegger was the most popular figure in
German philosophy then. No wonder everyone turned on him after 1945. I
agree with the statement, that he was a nazi, but i would restrict it to
the early 30ies. The famous german professor of philology Schadewaldt
was an ardent nazi, and his works have a high reputation today (just
one example). One might say: Poetry has a lot to explain, since Ezra
Pounds poems are still read and interpreted. And what about all those
who were fierce stalinists and are still studied today? If Heidegger
is the only nazi that is still studied, it may well be, that the
reason is his work, which is to important to ignore even if
you are disgusted by his political activities.
Martin Baeuerle
Sprachlernzentrum Universitaet Bonn
0228/735368
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
> The exchange re Husser/Heiddegger warrants some clarification.
> H was a Nazi,that is indisputable.That makes me feel quite
> uncomfortable.
> Name
> one other Nazi who is studied seriously today.Now to state that the
> business of the man has nothing to do with his work is -a
> position.
> I would suggest that a philosopher in the service of the Reich
> has some explaining to do.Is ontology so divorced from history?
Just a few remarks:
1. The Heidegger/Husserl relationship started to break when
Heidegger published Being and Time. Husserl then realized, that
Heidegger was not the phenomenologist, that he had expected him to
be. They parted over philosophical matters. Heidegger claims he never
signed an order that refused Husserl any access to the libraries in
Freiburg, and such an order bearing Heideggers signature has never
been found. The historician Hugo Ott found other letters that are
equally bad, so he concluded, that Heideggers evidence should be
accepted. Since there is the dedication to his great teacher even in
the 1935 edition of Being and Time (which is after the notorious
order), and the attempt to place it in the 1942 edition, where it was
omitted under pressure, as Ott proved, it very unlikely, that
Heidegger referred to Husserl as a non-aryan, as you earlier claimed.
If you could deliver the origin of that quotation, I would be very
grateful, since it would probably change my views on that matter.
2. Whoever was professor of anything during the nazi-period was
certainly not neutral, and all those who did not show their
disaproval are at least unser suspicion. Heidegger was the most popular figure in
German philosophy then. No wonder everyone turned on him after 1945. I
agree with the statement, that he was a nazi, but i would restrict it to
the early 30ies. The famous german professor of philology Schadewaldt
was an ardent nazi, and his works have a high reputation today (just
one example). One might say: Poetry has a lot to explain, since Ezra
Pounds poems are still read and interpreted. And what about all those
who were fierce stalinists and are still studied today? If Heidegger
is the only nazi that is still studied, it may well be, that the
reason is his work, which is to important to ignore even if
you are disgusted by his political activities.
Martin Baeuerle
Sprachlernzentrum Universitaet Bonn
0228/735368
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---