Lecture with Michael Steinman

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The philosophy Martin Heidegger starts to develop from 1934 on, his philosophy of Ereignis (event or enowning), has often be seen as an attempt to remedy for his failed political engagement by resorting to the superior and distant realm of the history of being. The talk shows that, to the contrary, this philosophy can be read as an attempt to save the idea of a revolution, of a new beginning, without the contradictions his earlier thought had to incur. In his activity as rector of the University of Freiburg, Heidegger wanted to achieve a new foundation of German identity through an experience lying beyond any fixed identity, but in order to do so he had to participate in the actions required by the Nazi agenda. These contradictions have a precedent in the conception of Being and Time, especially in the methodical approach to Being which is based on the ontological structure of one privileged being, that is, human Dasein. The philosophy developed after 1934 can be read as approach that would transform Dasein together with Being. The talk will show that the philosophy of Being has a political dimension, while Heidegger’s political engagement is accompanied by ontological assumptions and concerns.