On Hegel's Philosophy of Right: The 1934-35 Seminar and Interpretive Essays

Description

This is the first English translation of the seminar Martin Heidegger gave during the Winter of 1934-35, which dealt with Hegel's Philosophy of Right. This remarkable text is the only one in which Heidegger interprets Hegel's masterpiece in the tradition of Continental political philosophy while offering a glimpse into Heidegger's own political thought following his engagement with Nazism. It also confronts the ideas of Carl Schmitt, allowing readers to reconstruct the relation between politics and ontology. The book is enriched by a collection of interpretations of the seminar, written by select European and North American political thinkers and philosophers. Their essays aim to make the seminar accessible to students of political theory and philosophy, as well as to open new directions for debating the relation between the two disciplines. A unique contribution, this volume makes available key lectures by Heidegger that will interest a wide readership of students and scholars.

Peter Trawny is Professor of Philosophy at Bergische University, Wuppertal, Germany. He is the co-editor of Heidegger's Gesamtausgabe, or the complete works. Marcia Cavalcante Schuback is Professor of Philosophy at Soedertoern University, Sweden. The translator of Heidegger's Being and Time into Portuguese, her books include Praise of Nothingness: Essays on Philosophical Hermeneutics (2006) and The Beginning of God: An Inquiry into Schelling's Late Philosophy (1998). Michael Marder is Ikerbasque Research Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU), Vitoria-Gasteiz. He is the author of, most recently, Phenomena-Critique-Logos: The Project of Critical Phenomenology (2014); and The Philosopher's Plant: An Intellectual Herbarium (2014). Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most important philosophers.

The notes from Heidegger's seminar on Hegel's Philosophy of Right are an indispensable source for any serious understanding of Heidegger's relation to National Socialism as well as his conception of politics more generally. Readers of Andrew Mitchell's excellent translation are fortunate that in this volume they will find half a dozen thoughtful essays to guide them through this important but enigmatic text. * Robert Bernasconi, Penn State University * Heidegger publicly endorsed Nazism in his Rectoral Address of 1933. His lecture course On Hegel's Philosophy of Right (1934-1935) is crucial to grasping his understanding of philosophy, the meaning of the political, and Nazi politics. * Tom Rockmore, Distinguished Professor, Peking University *