Heidegger: His Life and His Philosophy

Badiou (philosophy, École Normale Supérieure, France) and Cassin (director of research, Ctr. National de la Recherche Scientifique, France) previously wrote an introduction to a French translation of a selection of letters from Martin Heidegger to his wife, Elfride. This book is an expansion of that overview, issued separately from the letters. Badiou and Cassin adopt a moderate position in a controversy that has embroiled French discussions of Heidegger. His admirers view him as the foremost thinker of the 20th century and minimize his Nazi associations; his detractors take his Nazism to be central to understanding his philosophy. Badiou and Cassin regard Heidegger as a major contributor to the field, though neither is a disciple. They fully acknowledge the philosopher's ties to the Third Reich but claim that he was merely an "ordinary" party member, in that respect a man of his time. They deny that this is key to understanding his thought. Throughout his long marriage Heidegger had numerous affairs, most notably with Hannah Arendt, and the authors address this topic with insight and wit.