From: onstott@a.cs.okstate.edu (ONSTOTT CHARLES OR)
Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta
Subject: Re: Heidegger and Nazism
Date: 20 Aug 92 01:44:47 GMT
Article-I.D.: a.1992Aug20.014447.8358
Organization: Oklahoma State University

From article <1992Aug19.152410.14895@husc3.harvard.edu>, by zeleny@husc9.harvard.edu (Michael Zeleny):
> Please observe the Followup line.
> 
> In article <1992Aug19.161512.27386@ccu.umanitoba.ca>
> feld@ccu.umanitoba.ca (Michael Feld) writes:
> 
> COO:
>>>  However, I see no justification, on the other hand, to your second
>>>claim when compared to the first.   I think that you will have to 
>>>select which you feel is more adequate.  If you select the first, 
>>>I am all ears as to how you can arrive at Nazism from his text--even
>>>Derrida, whose methods may be questionable, failed to convience me of 
>>>anything on this regard.  If you select the latter, you have to
>>>be careful when thinking of God in this way.  There is always the
>>>issue of time which puts forth a significant stumbling block to those
>>>who would like to reduce _Sein und Zeit_ to a simple theological 
>>>treatise.  However, to maintain both propositions simulatneously seems
>>>undeniably absurd.
> 
> I an puzzled by your claim, especially since the compatibility of
> Nazism with Christianity was claimed by Hitler in _Mein Kampf_, while
> the compatibility of Crhistianity with Nazism was claimed by the vast
> majority of German clerics of the period.

   There is a simple way out of the puzzle.  The theology that would
arise from Sein Und Zeit if "Being" was substituted with "God" would
NOT be a Christian theology.  It would be more like a mystical 
theology with an extreme existential difference.  I rest on this argument
alone, I see no need to justify Christianity in regards to Nazism although
I believe them to be incompatible regardless of the writings of a 
psychopath.  May I refer you, Mikhail, to Paul Tillich's _The Courage
to Be_?  It might prove useful to your understanding.
  
> 
> MF:
>>Before I try to meet this legitimate challenge (that is, risk making
>>(more of) a public spectacle of myself), let me just check on one
>>crucial point:
>>
>>I take it that we all agree that Heidegger was a Nazi for a
>>significant portion of his Professorial career?  So the challenge is
>>to show either the compatibility of _Sein & Zeit_ with Nazism, or that
>>the text is itself nazi-istic?  Failing that initial understanding,
>>I've no inclination to play.
> 
> I agree with Michael's claim, and refer all interested parties to
> Victor Farias' book _Heidegger et le Nazisme_.  I further state that
> te facile response to Charles' challenge consists in observing that
> the ethos of authenticity resolves into that of sincerity, recently
> described by me at some length elsewhere.  Thus the least charge that
> can be made with respect to Heidegger, is that his metaphysics
> precludes a priori any principled opposition to Nazism.  Having said
> that, I defer to Michael for more profound observations on the same
> subject.

  It is true that Heidegger's metaphysics precludes any a priori 
opposition to Nazism.  Of course, this is a simple result of the
flagrant lack of any sort of ethics.  An issue which Heidegger did
not address at all in Sein Und Zeit.  To construct Nazism from Heidegger
would require formulating an ethics which is not supportable by the
text alone.  Such attempts, on the other hand, could be made to formulate
a positive ethics as well--although they too would be without substantial
ground.  To arrive at any form of ethics, one would have to look to
later writings of Heidegger where an ethics is implied, though not
directly addressed.  The issue of ethics, academically, did not 
concern Heidegger.  This by no means, however, indicates that Heidegger
himself was devoid of such.  Having said that, I find that Mikhail
has once again attempted to show something which does not exist.
Further, it seems that, if anything, Mikhail WANTS Nazism out of
Heideggers text instead of simply considering it as it is.


  
> 
> cordially,
> mikhail zeleny@husc.harvard.edu
> "Nous donnons la mort, nous saurons la subir."

BCnya,
  Charles O. Onstott, III

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Charles O. Onstott, III  Account at Oklahoma State University for summer.
Graduate Student in Religious Studies           onstott@a.cs.okstate.edu
University of Chicago
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Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.meta,sci.logic,sci.math