File spoon-archives/heidegger.archive/heidegger_2003/heidegger.0304, message 25


Date: Wed, 02 Apr 2003 17:00:37 +0200
From: Rene de Bakker <rene.de.bakker-AT-uba.uva.nl>
Subject: Re: Enlightenment - east and west


Jason,

I think you're right about this conflict being a continuation of the
cold war. But that war, at least in the view of Heidegger, was the
continuation of an opposition that goes back to the Greeks and the
Persians and probably earlier. It would be more than interesting
to find out where exactly the boundaries are running now, how
Israel is in the game, but .... well maybe there will be more
honesty possible in short.  Heidegger has remained silent,
except some remarks like the one, that speaks of a destinal
connectedness of Germans and Jews.
But who is able to see what he possibly did mean by that?
Look what is made of the relation with Hannah Arendt.
Wagner would be a nice starting point, in combination with Arendt's
chapter on 19th century imperialism and anti-Semitism.
Nietzsche rather could be labelled anti-German than anti-Semite
 - "Ah what benefaction a Jew is among German
horned cattle. (...) The Jew knows *that* he lies, *when* he lies,
the anti-Semite doesn't know that he always lies. - " "The anti-
Semites shamelessly have a tangible aim: Jewish money."
The definition of an anti-Semite ends: "An anti-Semite is an
envious, that is: most stupid Jew -- "  All end 1888!
Anti-Wagner and Anti-Christ time.

But already "Birth of tragedy" is interesting: the Asian god
of ecstasy, Dionysos, mitigated by the Greek Apollo, god of
light and measure: both necessary and united in the choir
of the tragedy.

I guess, when we would and could ask Heidegger about this war,
he would advocate it. Stalin was permitted, to win a battle every day,
he wrote. (he had pills ready)  He quotes Valery who, after ww1
had pointed to Europe, a small peninsula of Asia, inevitably to be
swallowed. 
Maybe not neceesarily by war. Here in Amsterdam, Muhammed
is the most frequent name of male babies. 

Nowhere to my knowledge does he mention Islam. He does mention
Buddhism (Japan), Taoism (China), and probably India too.
In a letter to Jaspers he was positive to Jaspers's
axis time, which penetrates the christian beginning, and replaces it
with several simultaneous (but independent of each other) beginnings:
China (Confucius, Laotse), India (Buddha), Iran (Zarathustra), Israel
(Jesaias etc.), Greece, in the period 800-200 bc. 
Somewhere else he says that at a certain point, not now, it will be 
necessary that the world religions come together. Without blinking,
that is.

regards,

rene


The Germans now for the first time dare to speak openly of their 
bombed cities, this week there is a thick Spiegel supplement
dedicated to it. Maybe they're even gonna read Heidegger again...









-----------------------------------
drs. Rene de Bakker
Universiteitsbibliotheek Amsterdam
Afdeling Catalogisering 
tel. 020-5252368              


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