Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 18:06:05 +0100
Subject: Re: Heidegger in Germany


Michael Eldred wrote:

> Of course not, Henk. It is a matter of the general sense, and in my view your
> paraphrase distorts the sense of the passage cited.

The point I wanted to make was that the passage Rafael
referred to did not imply a denouncement of Hitler. I
cannot accept your view that my paraphrase distorts 
the sense of the passage - seen in ligth of the 
context and referring to your excellent translation. 

> But I hope, not a private one. I thought the rules of the game are that anyone
> can chip in just about anywhere without causing upset.

Anyone can. If one knows what it is about. You 
obviously did not know what we were talking 
about.      

> But in both cases you have represented Heidegger as himself propagating pretty
> unsavoury ideas (racism and the leadership of Fuehrern, resp.) when in fact he
> is pointing out -- from a distance -- a necessity or correspondence demanded by
> a certain metaphysical constellation of beings as a whole.

You seem not very comfortable with criticism on Heidegger.
You made it clear why. You have devoted years of your life
to his thinking. It is obvious that you have difficulty in
coping fairly with those who criticize him. So be it. For
the record: I am convinced that Heidegger saw between 1934
and 1944 racism as a necessity. He says so in the Koinon-
papers. If he had not seen racism and the Endloesung as a
necessity he would not ahve become a member of the NSDAP.
OR ... we should accept that the thinking itself of 
Heidegger in 1934-1944 is below par.     

> In view of the widespread tendency to bedevil Heidegger, it is at least
> important to take care not to put words into his mouth thus creating the
> impression that he was racist or totalitarian in his thinking. This is merely a
> requirement of good, fair scholarship.

I am amazed. Petzet writes about Heidegger's paranoia. But
it is not really necessary for those of us who want to be
a good Heideggerian also to _become_ paranoid! There is
no bedevilling of Heidegger. There are people who make a
living out of his membership of the NSDAP. How a bad thing
can turn in a good one, at least for some of us... And 
there are those who greatly admire him but not without 
criticism. It does not really make sense to speak about
God and the Devil in this context. As Hannah Arendt so
nicely put it, we are all little men with our own little
schemes. In some schemes criticism fits, in others it does
not - nevertheless these are also schemes. Come on, 
Michael, not so somber please. Does it make you feel any
better when I promise not to criticize Heidegger anymore
on this list?

Kindest regards,
Henk



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