Letters : 1925-1975

By Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger

Seit den fruhen achtziger Jahren ist bekannt, dass es zwischen Martin Heidegger und Hannah Arendt - uber die Lehrer-Schuler- und spatere professionelle Verbindung hinaus - eine Liebes- und... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151005257
• ISBN13: 9780151005253
• Release Date: December 2003
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

Heidegger and Arendt

Martin Heidegger (1889 -- 1976) and Hannah Arendt (1906 -- 1975) were among the most influential Twentieth Century thinkers. The German philosopher Martin Heidegger remains best-known for "Being and Time" (1927) and for his later "turn" to poetry and exegesis. Hannah Arendt escaped from Nazi Germany and became and American citizen in 1951. She became a political philosopher and the author of books including "The Origins of Totalitarianism", "The Human Condition" and "Eichmann in Jerusalem." The long personal and intellectual relationship between Heidegger and Arendt is chronicled in this collection of letters written between 1925 -- 1975, published and annotated by Ursula Ludz. In 1924, Arendt, a young and impressionable student, fell under the intellectual and personal influence of Heidegger at the University of Marburg. At the time, Heidegger was 35, married, a father, and working furiously on "Being and Time." The teacher and student began a passionate affair which gradually evolved into a lasting friendship. The affair was intense on both sides. "I must come see you this evening and speak to your heart.", Heidegger writes to Arendt in the opening letter of October 11, 1925. In a much later letter of 1950, after the two had resumed contact after 25 years, Heidegger writes of a recent photograph of Arendt: "You do not realize that it is the same gaze that leaped toward me on the lectern -- oh it was and will remain eternity, from afar and intimacy."(letter no. 60) For her part, Arendt left Marburg abruptly in 1926 and soon thereafter made a bad marriage which ended in divorce. Arendt married her second husband, Heinrich Blucher, in 1940 and the marriage lasted until Blucher's death in 1970. Ludz arranges the letters in the collection in three groups. The first group, headed "At first sight" covers the period between 1925 -- 1933 to include the love affair and its immediate aftermath. Notable in this group is the final letter, no.45 written by Heidegger in 1932 or 1933 in which he tries, in an unconvincing way, to respond to allegations of anti-semitism that Arendt had asked him about in a letter that has not survived. In 1950, after an absence of 25 years, Arendt and Heidegger began to correspond, with Arendt visiting the philosopher and his wife, Elfride. This section of the letters, captioned "The second look" covers the period 1950-1965. Heidegger and Arendt have a difficult reconciliation, with Arendt struggling to allay the jealousy of Heidegger's wife, Elfride. Heidegger had at first concealed the affair from Elfride (research subsequent to the publication of this book shows that the Heidegger's had an "open marriage")and subsequently admitted to it. The issue, apparently, was the concealment. Heidegger and Arendt discuss in a restrained manner their former relationship, but these letters include a great deal of discussion of Heidegger's ongoing writings and reflections. Heidegger does not appear overly interested in Arendt's w

The passionate and morally problematic love of two of the greatest thinkers of the century

This collection of letters is as one- sided as the relationship between Heidegger and Arendt was in certain respects. In this collection Heidegger is the one who speaks, over three - fourths of the one- hundred sixty- six letters are his. We do not have key documents, Arendt's early letters to Heidegger which were destroyed either by Heidegger himself or a member of his family. The relationship in the first stage at Marburg in 1925 was of the great intellectual figure Heidegger, already a person of tremendous reputation, thirty- five married with children, and that of an eighteen old student worshipper. The illicit love affair was clearly passionate and deeply felt on both sides. However in little more than a year there are signs that he does not mind her going out with a fellow student,and off to study somewhere else a sign perhaps of his being troubled that the affair exposed might cause harm to his reputation. A second stage came with the rise of the Nazis to power , Arendt's exile, and Heidegger's becoming a collaborator with the Nazi regime. At this stage Arendt becomes disturbed about allegations of Heidegger's anti- Semitism. The third stage came after a long hiatus in letter - writing. It was only after the war that there was a renewal of their relationship, though it is not clear that this was also a romantic renewal. For by this time Arendt was married to Heinrich Blucher. At this point Arendt played the role of advisor to Heidegger in helping him deal with the charges of collaboration with the Nazis. This chapter is not one which does Arendt credit. Her readiness to not simply excuse Heidegger for his revolting behavior, (including anti- Semitic remarks, dismissal of Jewish colleagues, a use of concepts of his own philosophy in a pro- Nazi speech, ) but to help him get off the hook reflects a loyalty void of all judgment. And this from the philosopher for whom 'judging' was a fundamental philosophical category. Their post- war reconciliation was prompted and pushed by Heidegger's viciously anti- Semitic wife, Elfreide. Elfreide despised Arendt but understood that she could help Heidegger, and so encouraged the renewal of the relationship. Heidegger for his part never read Arendt's work and could not give her the kind of respect and esteem that she continued to give him. Heidegger and Arendt are profound souls, and this is felt in the content and tone of these letters. They are people of high ideals and aspirations. They are two of the most significant thinkers of the twentieth century. Their story of love and friendship is a fascinating one. And whatever additional light is thrown on this relationship is eagerly seized upon by students of their work. Yet their relationship illicit at the outset , later became even more suspect as it worked to cover up Heidegger's immoral behavior. The dishonesty and evasiseness of Heidegger in dealing with the charges against him is all the more reprehensible as it is that of one whose funda

Poetry and how personal histories matter

Everybody knows what two people in a situation like Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger in 1925, a female student and a married philosophy professor, shouldn't say to each other. With imaginary docudramas filling in the blanks of the lives of so many famous people in ways that fulfill the fantasies of millions of TV viewers, as well as the readers of historical novels, those who watch movies about Samson, and theologians who wonder what Adam and Eve ever saw in the forbidden fruit, it is a relief to be getting some actual documents from a famous romance. Heidegger's fame was growing rapidly at the beginning of this book, and Hannah Arendt was bound to become known for paying attention. The fiftieth item in this book, "Martin Heidegger for Hannah Arendt: Five Poems," ends with the short poems: Correspondence Godless is God alone, and no other thing-- death first corresponds, to the ring of Being's poem, the first. DEATH Death is, in the world's own rhyme, Being's mountain chain. Death will evade what's yours and mine in the falling weight falling toward silence's tor, star of earth, nothing more. For the friend's friend (pp. 63-64, prior to a letter dated Febr. 15, 1950). Hannah Arendt responded in item 127, twenty years later, a few weeks after Heidegger sent her a poem about time, but trying to quote the earlier poem, from New York, on November 27, 1970: Dear Martin, For days, weeks, I have wanted to write to you, at least to tell you how much good your letter did me, your sympathy, the time poem as an aid to reflection. Together with the other from many, many years ago Death is, in the world's design, Being's mountain chain. Death will evade what's yours and mine In the falling weight. Falling toward silence's tor, Star of earth, nothing more. (p. 173). British users of the English language might know that tor is a hill. Heinrich Blucher had died and a memorial service was held at Bard College on November 15. Like soldiers in a time of mounting casualties, people of different ages often have unsettled feelings about death because which will survive is not obvious. Hannah Arendt died in December, 1975, a few months before Heidegger's death in May, 1976. The `Romeo and Juliet' ending of fifty years of being German, Jewish, or American thinkers, bound together by an interest in the years that offered multiple lessons to be learned on both sides, makes this a bit more interesting to me than the other collections of Hannah Arendt's Letters with Karl Jaspers, Mary McCarthy, Hermann Broch, Kurt Blumenfeld, and Heinrich Blucher. This book mentions Nietzsche or Heidegger's book about Nietzsche about a dozen times, but the interesting comments are in Hannah Arendt's tribute, "Martin Heidegger at eighty" on pages 148-162, and a brilliant short description of Heidegger as a fox in July 1953 which ends with: But the fox living in the trap said proudly: So many fall into my trap; I have become the best of all foxes. And there was even

Arendt and Heidegger in Letters

This collection of letters is an absolute necessity for anyone interested in Hannah Arendt, and particularly her relationship with the controversial German philosopher (and mentor) Martin Heidegger. The letters are well annotated and there is a helpful introduction as well. The only problem is that there are relatively few letters from Arendt. And those that appear in the collection are somewhat concise, whether from the editing or simply because they were not extensive. As a result, the reader does not get the intimate and expansive view into Arendt's thinking and activities that one comes away with from reading, for example, her collection of letters to and from Mary McCarthy. Of particular interest is the exchange of poetry between the two--somewhat ironic given Heidegger's controversial career and purported anti-Semitism during the Nazi period. One cannot help thinking, as the letters pass by, as to why Arendt chose to treat Heidegger with such kid gloves; nonetheless, there is a touching quality about this late-in-life correspondence of two former lovers. Quite pleasant and informative and not overly technical in philosophical terms.

Finally Available

Perhaps it's a sign of the times in which we live, but the biggest stories of recent note in philosophy have been Heidegger's flirtation with National Socialism and the revelation of his affair with his student, Hannah Arendt, in the 1920s. The affair with Arendt has left a bad account of the affair (Ettinger) and a badly written novel in its wake, but perhaps these lumps of fool's gold have led us to the real thing, for they helped persuade Heidegger's son, Herman, to open the private files of his famous father and release these letters to the public. These, along with the letters to Arendt that are extant, comprise a volume that belongs in the library of every serious student of Arendt and Heidegger. It provides a glimpse of the lives and thought of two intellectual giants and of how events led to their estrangement and shaky reconciliation.The first part of the book comes across as a one-way conversation, as only Heidegger's letters to Arendt are extant. Obviously Heidegger was smart enough to destroy Arendt's letters lest they fall into the hands of Mrs. H. The tone of these early letters is that of a besotted adolescent. Heidegger sends her bad poetry and, in one letter, refers to her as his "little wood nymph." As these letters were meant to be strictly private, we cannot help but suffer the embarrassment of an unintentional voyeur. However, the section ends on an ominous note with a letter from Heidegger in 1933 answering Arendt's charges that he is anti-Semitic. This came shortly after the ascension of Hitler and makes us sad that Heidegger destroyed Arendt's letter making the charges.The correspondence begins anew after the war and only because Arendt saw it in her heart to forgive her former mentor and in effect bury the hatchet. Heidegger seems most pleased and the letters lead to a personal reconciliation with Arendt visiting Heidegger and his wife in Germany. But all was not to remain quiet. Heidegger had confessed all to his wife, and took her willingness to see Arendt again as a sign all was back to normal, as it were. The letters he sends in 1950 give the impression that he is more than willing to resume their affair; to once again have his cake and eat it, too. But a sudden dispatch from Heidegger warns Arendt to cancel a postponed visit and not to write for a while. Seems Elfride Heidegger was not the willing accomplice her husband believed her to be.But time heals all and the letters (and visits) resume. Heidegger is more interested in what he is doing and the American response than in what Arendt is doing. In one telling letter, he admits he has no idea of what she means by "radical evil." Another subject on which Arendt treads lightly is that of Karl Jaspers: Jaspers and Heidegger attempted a reconciliation after the war, but failed and each has bitterness toward the other with Arendt playing the diplomat in the middle, though in her letters with Jaspers there is no doubt about whose side she is on.Another missed opportunity