Dr. Antonio Vargas : National and Social Unity in Martin Heidegger and Othmar Spann
Dear colleagues,
The next session of the Jerusalem Lecture Series in Political Thought and Intellectual History will take place on Wednesday, May 2020, at 4:30 pm. We are glad to host Dr. Antonio Vargas (Martin Buber Society of Fellows, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) who will talk on: ‘National and Social Unity in Martin Heidegger and Othmar Spann’
Discussant: Efraim Podoksik
You are welcome to join us on Zoom:
https://huji.zoom.us/j/8657953698
Meeting ID: 865 795 3698
Link to the paper https://www.dropbox.com/s/xfi22t54izrxu6x/JSHPT%20Vargas%20lecture.docx?dl=0
Abstract:
One of the more difficult and dangerous arguments in Heidegger’s middle period is that authentic being with others involves belonging to a Volk. In evaluating this argument Heidegger’s thought has not been set in the broader context of the philosophies of the “Conservative Revolution.” In this paper, I present similar arguments of the today unknown, but at the time hugely influential Austrian philosopher Othmar Spann. In particular I present key arguments from Spann’s Gesellschaftslehre according to which the human mind naturally develops only in small communities that ultimately are parts of a Nation. These provide a useful parallels to Heidegger’s account of Mitsein and of authentic belonging to a Volk, and Spann’s own involvement with the Nazi party provides an interesting comparison with Heidegger’s. I argue that despite his initial embrace of the Nazi movement, Spann’s philosophy contains elements that can be use to effectively criticize mass politics, elements that are lacking in Heidegger’s account due to his too general account of Mitsein. I propose that in the context of reevaluation of the liberal order in the aftermath of Corona, Spann’s works contain arguments that deserve a closer reading.
More info on Dr. Vargas can be found here: https://buberfellows.huji.ac.il/people/antonio-vargas
Yours,
Efraim Podoksik