In Of Spirit Derrida argues that Heidegger shifts from a critical stance to spirit (as Geist) in Being and Time in the 1920's to a fullblooded embrace in the Rectorship Address in the 1930s. As the Nazi Rector of Freiburg University Martin Heidegger aligned himself intellectually with the idea of “cultural renewal” advocated by the Nazis.
The text Derrida refers to is entitled the 'Self Assertion of the German University.' This makes mention of the destiny of the German people, their spiritual mission and their historical character. Derrida reads the self-affirmation of the university as the celebration of spirit and so the destiny of the west is a spiritual force.
Then we have this paragraph by Derrida about contamination and the way that we are caught up in the machine or law of contamination. What Derrida does not do is locate this within the context of Heidegger's general strategy of university reform.
So we need to look at this before we continue our reading of Heidegger.
Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at October 7, 2004 11:23 PM | TrackBack