Heidegger as Nazi

22 April 1933: Martin Heidegger elected as Rector of Freiburg University and joined the National Socialist Party.
- Inaugural address endorsed Nazi policy.
Quotation from Heidegger:
"The university must be integrated again into the Volksgemeinschaft [community of the people] and be joined together with the State... in the National Socialist spirit."
Condemnation of "humanizing, Christian ideas" that could undermine National Socialist ideals.
November 1933: Implemented policies against "non-Aryans" and Marxists.

23 April 1934: Resigned as Rector and ceased active participation in Party, but remained a member.
- Continued to express support for Nazi ideals.
1935 Remarks: Expressed that while he critiqued some philosophical works tied to National Socialism, he recognized the "inner truth and greatness" of the movement.
1936 Conversation: Stated that National Socialism was the right course for Germany, asserting a need to endure.

Quotation:
"Do a thinker’s abhorrent political views mean we should stop reading their work? When should we do so? When should we not?"

Discussion on whether Heidegger can be viewed as a good philosopher despite his associations with Nazism.
Example of Gottlob Frege, an anti-Semite whose logic was not tied to his political stances.
Authenticity and Engagement:
- Heidegger claimed that his philosophy was interconnected with his political views.
- Reference to 1965 interview asserting that National Socialism aligned with his philosophical aspirations.

Heidegger posited that human existence (Dasein) reaches into a future shaped by its historical context.
The Nazi movement viewed as a common destiny shared by the people.
Authentic Individuality:
- Authenticity involves a sense of 'resoluteness' both individually and collectively.

Conscience does not call for a specific action but for authenticity, which varies with context.
Interpretation of the Nazi revolution as a departure from complacent meanings.
Strenuous engagement with historical forces like nature and language recognized as paths towards authenticity, despite leading into uncertainty.

Heidegger's critique of both Communism and modern moral/ political ideologies.
- Belief in equal rights and individual good life considered flawed.

Heidegger's philosophy emphasizes that the world reveals itself through active participation.
Criticism of science's reductionist view of existence and technology as merely a resource.

Distinction between traditional farming and mechanized agriculture.
- Technology viewed as a way of reducing existence to mere utility and efficiency.

Critique of liberal democracies as ‘inauthentic incarnate,' engaged in forgetfulness of being and authenticity.

1942 reflection on human essence and the role of Germany in addressing world issues.
Belief in a unique mission attributed to Germans, tying back to a historical and philosophical legacy.

Heidegger's attraction to German peasant life as a source of authentic existence, glorified by Nazism.

Reference to preference for peasants over philosophers, reflecting a grounded philosophy rooted in everyday life.

Metaphorically aligns philosophical endeavors with the labor of peasants, emphasizing a symbiotic relationship.