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On the Marxist Critique of Heidegger
(carlosgarrido.substack.com)
Other philosophy communities have only interpreted the world in various ways. The point, however, is to change it. [ x ]
"I thunk it so I dunk it." - Descartes
Short Attention Span Reading Group: summary, list of previous discussions, schedule
I think I'll give this a read. Thanks for sharing! Not a philosophy student but have had my phases of deep interest before realizing I'm getting in over my head. Years ago I went through the (stereotypical) existentialism phase and Heidegger and Nietzche get brought up as core figures.
I think I may revisit them through a Marxist lens. Especially since my reactionary father in-law is going through a Nietzche phase of his own. I've recently given the following criticism of Heidegger and Nietzche from MR a read: https://monthlyreview.org/2023/02/01/the-new-irrationalism/
I like how concretely this criticism ties the philosophical movement to imperialism. There is some attacking the internal inconsistencies of Heidegger's philosophy but it's similar to debunking Simon Sebag Montefiore's history of Stalin - sure it's poor scholarship itself, but focusing on that to the exclusion of the broader academic pressure to develop more and more outrageous Nazi apologia and USSR slander wouldn't really get the point across.
I like the description of Heidegger's philosophy as a perfect distillation of the mindset of a particular kind of imperial subject. That's the way I approach works that have serious problems. You exhibit the problems for SCIENCE
Apologies for the late response. I read the posted article and was happy to see that the John Bellamy Foster article I mentioned was also cited. And I found the connection between Heidegger's (and other's) though and imperialism to be so enlightening when I first read it. It really helped purge my remaining fondness for Heidegger, Schopenhauer, (and Zizek too) that I gained from my existentialism days. I liked the critiques toward the end of the Foster article of Zizek's irrationalism w.r.t. the environmental crisis and NATO expansionism. Wish I had more of substance to say, but thanks for sharing this article with us!