On Heidegger's Nazism and Philosophy

Martin Heidegger is among the most influential philosophers of our century, a thinker whose ideas transformed the nature of philosophy. Existentialism, Deconstruction, Marxism, theology, psychoanalysis, literary and cultural criticism, and political theory all reveal his influence. That Heidegger supported National Socialism has long been common knowledge, but the exact nature of the relationship between his philosophy and political commitments has been the subject of a vociferous debate on both sides of the Atlantic. Boldly refuting arguments that the philosopher's political stance was accidental or adopted under coercion, Tom Rockmore argues that Heidegger's philosophical thought and his Nazism are inseparably intertwined, that he turned to National Socialism on the basis of his philosophy, and that his later evolution was largely determined by his continuing concern with Nazism. After outlining a framework within which Heidegger's philosophy and Nazism are clearly shown to be interrelated, Rockmore examines the famous rectoral address delivered in 1933 at the University of Freiburg, in which Heidegger sought to ground politics in philosophy. The author analyzes efforts, first by Heidegger himself and then by his followers, to contain damage to his reputation; discusses the inseparable relation of politics and philosophy in Being and Time and the recently published Contributions to Philosophy, and investigates the philosopher's influential interpretations of Nietzsche, technology, and Holderlin. In the final two chapters, Rockmore details the impact on French philosophy of both Heidegger and the controversy over his Nazism. Combining extensive documentation of the Heideggercontroversy with unflinching historical and intellectual analysis, Rockmore raises profound questions about the social and political responsibility of philosophy. His book is certain to be controversial, and no one interested in Heidegger's thought and influence will be able to ignore it.