Heidegger, Art, and Politics: The Fiction of the Political

This volume is essentially Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's philosophy dissertation, in which he seeks to reconcile the significance of Martin Heidegger's metaphysical project with his apparent commitment to National Socialism. This book is more thoughtful, and expresses greater mastery of Heidegger's thinking than Fictor Farias' book, and yet at the same time it contains the necessary material for a thorough inquiry into Heidegger's political involvements throughout WWII. Lacoue-Labarthe, unlike the vast majority of intellectual-apologist Heideggerians, sees a clear and distinct connection between Heidegger's philosophy and his politics, writing that, "his commitment is entirely consistent with his thought" (19). Additionally, and in contradistinction to the Heideggerians who deem Heidegger's political involvements an `error' of thinking, or an act of poor judgment, Lacoue-Labarthe insists that, "it is not an error, but a consequence. And if that consequence had as its consequence, even if for only a period of 10 months, consenting Nazism to something of that order then we must speak not of committing an error but of doing wrong" (22). The bottom line for Lacoue-Labarthe is that Heidegger needed to say more during the post-war period. Reducing the Holocaust to mere standing reserve fails to address the racism, the bio-politics, and the pathological facets of the movement which Heidegger was so strongly imbedded. This is an important work for students interested in this topic, though I cannot say I agree with Lacoue-Labarthe's reductionist views of Heidegger's philosophy of art and its relation to fascism.