Description
Book SynopsisAddressing Heidegger's continuing centrality to continental thought, Markus Weidler argues that Heidegger's prickly charm is best explained in terms of his great ingenuity, crafting a novel genre of writing which promises to harness the revelatory power of artworks for the purpose of philosophical inquiry. In doing so, Heidegger challenges the reader with a provocative form of artisan thinking, which for Weidler is central to understanding the significance of Heidegger's work overall.In
Vorträge und Aufsätze (
Public Lectures and Essays) Heidegger declares: ''once it has become anthropology, philosophy perishes from metaphysics.'' Remarks critical of ''philosophical anthropology'' are scattered throughout his writings, but so far commentators have not connected these tantalizing statements in any systematic way. This book deals with his hostility by addressing what we are to make of Heidegger's frequent but elusive dismissals of philosophical anthropology as a field of stu
Trade ReviewRarely are books this nuanced also this comprehensive. Anyone interested in Heidegger
should read this book. Everyone attempting to think about aesthetics or religion after Heidegger
must read it.
-- J. Aaron Simmons, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Furman University, USA
Weidler’s deeply scholarly book situates Heidegger in the history of modern German thought. Weidler corrects the prevalent tendency to read Heidegger out of context and offers us historically grounded arguments for re-assessing Heidegger’s problematic relation to the political. This book, which every Heidegger scholar will benefit from, proves the importance of philosophical anthropology and theology for Heidegger’s development; it shows that Heidegger’s conception of the holy is constructed as an alternative to the German Idealist effort to personalize the absolute. A refreshing and important contribution to Heidegger studies and the history of contemporary philosophy. -- Sean J. McGrath, Professor of Philosophy, Memorial University, Canada
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Introduction: The Decisive Decade from 1936 to 1946
PART I: Back to the 1780s Chapter 1 Philosophical Anthropology: Herder’s Pantheism as a Subtext for Heidegger’s First Schelling Lecture Chapter 2 Revelation: Heidegger’s Second Schelling Lecture vis-à-vis Scheler and Simmel Chapter 3 “The Origin of the Work of Art”: A Critique of Schiller
Incognito and the Beginning of Artisan Thinking
PART II: Battleground Nietzsche Chapter 4 Heidegger’s
Nietzsche Volumes: Nihilism, Physiological Aesthetics, and Volitional Metaphysics Chapter 5 Hegel and Nietzsche in
Holzwege: Religious Skepticism, Witnessing, and “Subjectity”
PART III: Poeticsat the “Zero Hour” Chapter 6 “Why Poets?”: Cultural Rebirth and the Poetic Inception of Piety Chapter 7 The
Letter on Humanism: Modulations of the German Poet in a Demonic Text
CODA: Being and Time as an “Old-fashioned” Book? Chapter 8 Freedom for Death and Prussian Resolve Conclusion: Faith and Fanaticism after Heidegger Notes Selected Bibliography Index
