Product Description

A landmark discussion between two great thinkers, vital to an understanding of twentieth-century philosophy and intellectual history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #47095 in Books
• Published on: 1991-03-01
• Released on: 1991-03-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 608 pages

--Booklist
"A major contribution to our understanding of each of these thinkers."

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

From the Publisher
A landmark discussion between two great thinkers, vital to an understanding of twentieth-century philosophy and intellectual history.

Customer Reviews

brilliant pedagogy!
Unlike traditional accounts of Nietzsche, of which there are many, and which dryly appropriate certain ideas to N. that are then delineated in linear, logical terms, Heidegger unfolds Nietzsche's thinking within its own domain. Heidegger thinks through and beyond Nietzsche in this work; as interpreters, we are called upon to enter the world as N. saw it, to think N.'s most abysmal thought deeply for ourselves.

Heidegger, in his unfolding of N.'s work, enters the questioning in his Heideggerian way (to me, H. truly inaugurated a new of "thinking")--which means: do not expect definitions of explicit explanations of terms and concepts. (do not expect concepts!). Rather, his lectures take us through N.'s ideas of "will to power" as "art" (Vol. 1), and "the eternal recurrence of the same" (Vol. 2) as a voyage through original (in the sense of 'origin', a place of creation) thinking--a voyage that sweeps us into the domain of Being itself, and of its configurations, domains, and manifestations.

(to those who say this is not N., this is Heidegger, in terms of ideas of the work: the fact that H. comes through so deeply in the work only speaks to his brilliant pedagogy. A teacher is precisely one who shows us the path by embodying the matter at hand in its full force. It does not mean he misunderstands N. Rather, it means he appropriates N. for himself, "incorporating" him into his own thinking. It is precisely this that students are taught to embody for themselves. Hence, this is not a flaw of Heidegger--that he "makes everything a prelude to himself", but rather, the very reason he helps us understand so deeply. Let us not forget this is a series of lecture courses...)

One day something will have to be written on Heidegger as pedagogue. Brilliant!!

The Foundations of Fascism
I have given the Nietzsche series by Heidegger 5-stars because of its absolutely central historical position in the philosophical development of fascism.

All attempts by professors with vested & sensationalist research interests to declare Nietzsche and/or Heidegger to have been "misappropriated" by fascism are futil. The works of Prof. Richard Wolin (available here at Amazon), have clearly demonstrated this once and for all time.

You say that the last statement is merely the expression of an opinion? Do you follow Nietzsche's dictum that "there are no facts, only opinions"? Here is a simple, Aristotalian (logos apophantikos) litmus test: Should we really take seriously anyone who asserts that Nietzsche's dictum is a valid description of the nhilistic condition of the world? Because that would violate the dictum itself, which asserts that it is impossible to have an Aristotalian corrspondance theory of truth. In that case, why even bother to read Nietzsche, or Heidegger, who want to be taken very seriously, after all, in their *assertions* that "assertion", as a mode of description, is itself impossible.

More grievous than the loss of Western metaphysics in this line of anti-reason, is their proposed replacement of it by a vague "Master of Truth" paradigm, for which they cabel together a false pre-Socratic geneology. See the works of Beatrice Han (also at Amazon), who takes the great neo-Heideggerian Foucault to task for not being Nietzschean enough in this regard. For the "Master of Truth", the Uberman, is nothing more than a Napolean (for Nietzsche), or a Hitler (for Heidegger).

Yes, the roots of fascism are still strong in the Postmodern movement which thrives on the works of the "iron triangle" of Nietzsche-Hiedegger-Foucalt.

What? How can the *Left* be the new harbinger of fascism, you ask? Again, see the works of Prof. Richard Wolin here on Amazon. Or, see Pink Floyd's "The Wall", in which a *Left-wing* rock poet descends into nhilism and is transformed into a Nazi before your eyes. The main character is named "Pink" after all, as in "socialist", as in Committee for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).

And for more serious proof of the precariousness of our age, look no further than the UN Conference Against Racism at Durbin, South Africa. Under the rubric "Against Racism", every Postmodern-inspired NGO with a political agenda (the politics of identity) rose to a frothing crescendo of anti-Semitism not heard since the collapse of the Weimer Republic. There was Mary Robinson, so shaken by her inability to staunch the hemmoraging of philosophical error before her eyes, that she stood at the final dinner and shouted, "Tonight I am a Jew". But that is syllogistically a false statement (demonstrating again the simply bedrock-valid nature of logos apophantikos). She is Irish. And she is the paragon of what Gertrude Stein would surely call "A Lost Generation".

Nietzsche Becomes a Heideggerian, too!
I hate to appear cynical, but in this book, isn't Heidegger doing what he has done with every other facet of Western philosophy - namely, making it a prelude to himself?

It is by no means certain that Nietzsche 'believed in' the heavy philosophizing Heidegger specialised in. Some of Nietzsche's writings even disavow 'philosophy' - period. Nietzsche's own writings make it clear that he changed his mind a lot, and therefore, anyone endeavouring to make a consistent reading - of an inconsistent philosophy, has either to ignore
large parts of someone else's thinking - or make stuff up - to fill in the gaps. Perhaps this explains why some readers find Heidegger's study of Nietzsche clarifying.Heidegger has filled in the blanks and patched planks over tricky precipices.

For a man who had trouble relating to reality - for most of
his active life, elated one week, deep in depression the next,
Heidegger erects a remarkably impressive image of solidity
and consistency over Nietzsche's thought. Of course, we all enjoy reading 'Zarathustra.' But it's art - not reality. Nietzsche visualised those lovely ideas - but couldn't live them out.It wasn't 'lebensphilosophie' or 'erlebniss' -
but fantasy substitute. Heidegger would have you believe otherwise. Read any of Nietzsche's biographers (except the slavish idolatrers) - and that becomes evident enough. Alas, Heidegger has said nothing about the psychology of the real Nietzsche. Nietzsche condemned 'pity' as the trait of weak men. But the very thing which triggered his final collapse, was the
sight of a horse being beaten mercilessly. Perhaps that was the real Nietzsche - not the one who ran from his sense of pity. This series of volumes is profoundly meaningful if you happen to share Nietzsche's and Heidegger's pessimistic verdict about 2,500 years of (mistaken) Western philosophy. If you don't,
it might be considered one big yawn. I recommend Kaufmann's
studies as a counter-balance.