"Probably the best case-study in the sociology of philosophy there has ever been." <i>Radical Philosophy</i> <p> "Bourdieu's book is the single most illuminating contribution to an understanding of the social and political meaning of Heidegger's work. It is extremely stimulating in its methodology, which is an outstanding model of a sociological approach to philosophy, and in the light it casts on the current debate over Heidegger and Nazism. Bourdieu's book stands apart from the other books and articles on the political implications of Heidegger's philosophy by virtue of the originality, clarity, and soundness of its point of view." <i>Jean-Joseph Gouz, Brown University</i></p>
Drawing on his distinctive methods of analysis, Bourdieu argues that philosophical discourse - like all discourse - is the result of an interaction between an expressive drive and the censorship generated by the social field in which it is produced. Hence, to understand Heidegger's work, it is necessary to reconstruct the logic of the philosophical field in early twentieth-century Germany and its relation to the broader social and political fields of the Weimar Republic. In this way Bourdieu is able to shed fresh light on Heidegger's philosophical language and orientation, while steering clear of the partisan judgements adopted by those critics who charge him with an apologetics for Nazism or those who seek to redeem him at any cost.
The Political Ontology of Martin Heidegger will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy, literature, and social and political theory, as well as to anyone interested in the controversy surrounding Heidegger and his links with Nazism.
Introduction: Skewed thinking.
1. Pure philosophy and the Zeitgeist. .
2. The philosophical field and the space of possibilities.
3. A 'conservative revolution' in philosophy.
4. Censorship and the imposition of form.
5. Internal readings and the respect of form.
6. Self-interpretation and the evolution of the system.
Notes.
Index.
Drawing on his distinctive methods of analysis, Bourdieu argues that philosophical discourse - like all discourse - is the result of an interaction between an expressive drive and the censorship generated by the social field in which it is produced. Hence, to understand Heidegger's work, it is necessary to reconstruct the logic of the philosophical field in early twentieth-century Germany and its relation to the broader social and political fields of the Weimar Republic. In this way Bourdieu is able to shed fresh light on Heidegger's philosophical language and orientation, while steering clear of the partisan judgements adopted by those critics who charge him with an apologetics for Nazism or those who seek to redeem him at any cost.
The Political Ontology of Martin Heidegger will be of interest to students and scholars in philosophy, literature, and social and political theory, as well as to anyone interested in the controversy surrounding Heidegger and his links with Nazism.