Overview

Martin Heidegger was an ordinary Nazi and a loyal member of the provincial petty bourgeoisie. He was also a seminal thinker of the Continental tradition and one of the twentieth century's most important philosophers. How are we to make sense of this dual life? Should we factor Heidegger's domestic and political associations into our understanding of his thought, or should we treat his intellectual work independently of his abhorrent politics? How does any thinker reconcile the mundane with the ideal or the pursuit of philosophical inquiry with the demands of civic engagement? In Heidegger, Alain Badiou and Barbara Cassin immerse themselves in the philosopher's correspondence with his wife Elfride to answer these questions as they relate to Heidegger and all thinkers vulnerable to the politics of their times. They focus on Heidegger's tormented relationship with his wife, with Hannah Arendt, and with numerous other women, bringing an unusual level of intimacy to his personal and intellectual worlds.

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Two of the most prominent thinkers in contemporary France engage in joint reflection on Heidegger's political and even personal life. It is a strange and captivating book, more fair to Heidegger than many would wish. You will enjoy spending time with Badiou and Casssin: sharing in their witty remarks, profiting from their reserves of intellectual culture and human experience. -- Graham Harman, American University in Cairo The book is conversational, with touches of personality and wit - a friendly battle between thinkers who know each other well, and respect each other enormously, despite their often considerable intellectual differences. It is refreshing to see such strong thinkers engaging with each other honestly and directly, without the slightest bit of hostility. -- Kenneth Reinhard, University of California, Los Angeles Badiou and Cassin's book is short, clear, and powerful. It succinctly overcomes the deadlock between pro- and anti-Heideggerians embedded in the debate about his Nazism while shedding light on the intimate, subtle connections between Heidegger's fundamental ontology and his relations (both intellectual and amorous) with women. -- Adrian Johnston, Professor of Philosophy, University of New Mexico

You will enjoy spending time with Badiou and Cassin: sharing in their witty remarks, profiting from their reserves of intellectual culture and human experience. -- Graham Harman, author of Immaterialism: Objects and Social Theory The book is conversational, with touches of personality and wit - a friendly battle between thinkers who know each other well, and respect each other enormously, despite their often considerable intellectual differences. It is refreshing to see such strong thinkers engaging with each other honestly and directly, without the slightest bit of hostility. -- Kenneth Reinhard, University of California, Los Angeles Badiou and Cassin's book is short, clear, and powerful. It succinctly overcomes the deadlock between pro- and anti-Heideggerians embedded in the debate about his Nazism while shedding light on the intimate, subtle connections between Heidegger's fundamental ontology and his relations (both intellectual and amorous) with women. -- Adrian Johnston, coauthor of Self and Emotional Life: Philosophy, Psychoanalysis, and Neuroscience Valuable to students of Heidegger in particular and more generally to anyone interested in 20th-century German and French thought. Library Journal

Author Information

Alain Badiou (PhD, Philosophy, Ecole Normale Superieure) holds the Rene Descartes Chair at the European Graduate School; he also teaches at the Ecole Normale Superieure and the College International de Philosophie in Paris. He is the author of several successful novels and plays as well as more than a dozen philosophical works, including his masterwork, Being and Event (Continuum, 2007), and several Columbia titles, includng Plato's Republic (2013) and Jacques Lacan Past and Present (2016).

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