La fiction du politique

by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe

French

Genres: Philosophy

188 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe—philosopher, literary critic, and translator—is one of the leading intellectuals in France. He teaches philosophy and aesthetics at the University of Strasbourg. Among his works translated into English is Typography: Mimesis, Philosophy, Politics (Stanford paperback edition, 1998).

Reviews

[Alyosha · Rating 5 out of 5]

In terms of works seeking not only to expose, or even to interpret, but to think the relation between Heidegger's thought and his "politics," one cannot but respect this book of Lacoue-Labarthe for its probity and, even moreso, for its honesty. That Heidegger's thought was at the grounds of Lacoue-Labarthe's own is never set in question - and hence the agony of his relation to the German thinker. As Lacoue-Labarthe rightly puts it, "the recognition, even the unreserved admiration, for the thought does not in any fashion exclude an infinite mistrust of it" (p. 30). This mistrust is something which is lacking in many works attempting to reckon with Heidegger's politics, from many who similarly owe much to Heidegger, and tend to temper the effects of the relation between the thought and the politics (in order to preserve their own academic positions, perhaps). But what is demanded - particularly by Heidegger's silence - is not an indictment or trial, as Lacoue-Labarthe notes (p. 52), but rather a questioning, a thinking-through; a "questioning for thought."

Philosophy - or, perhaps better, thought - is indelibly marked, stained, by the example of Heidegger (exemplary in terms of thought and of its fault(s)). Indeed, how could one not agree with Lacoue-Labarthe, after thinking through everything (everything available at that time), that Heidegger's "silence after the war - his silence on the Extermination - is unpardonable" (p. 171)? Yet we cannot - in the strict sense of an imperative - refuse to read Heidegger. His influence upon thought, even when unacknowledged or negative, is unavoidable. And thus the equally emphatic exigency to think through this thought, and not merely to ape, parrot, or blindly follow it. If thought has always borne a stain in relation to its history and its task, this remains no less so today, or in the future. Lacoue-Labarthe's book therefore marks out a testament, in terms not only of its rigor and its honesty, but also of its courage.

[Alyosha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would like to note that my rating of this book - for what any "rating" is worth (based upon what unspoken measure?) - is not related to the work of Lacoue-Labarthe itself, but rather to the translation. One can find my assessment of the work itself, should one like, in my review of the original French text.

This translation, as a translation, bears quite a few faults. Some range within the usual issues plaguing any translation (the difficulty in adequately transfering a thought from one language to another), but others strike one as editorial laziness. For example, there are a number of endnotes throughout the chapters for which the numbers in hypertext are completely absent from the body of the text, despite the preservation of the note at the end of the chapter in question. There is also an instance where Lacoue-Labarthe writes of "Hegelianism," while the translation gives "Heideggerianism" (which completely mangles the sense of the thought being expressed in the passage). Finally, where each of Lacoue-Labarthe's chapters bears a simple, single word title (listed in the table of contents; the heading of each chapter bears only a number), the translator has - for completely unknown reasons - decided to eschew these titles and instead provide his own. Some are innoffensive (for example, chapter two, "Heidegger," is here entitled "Heidegger's Affair"), while others less so (chapter six, "German Song," is given the title "technē; chapter eight, "Mimetology," is here "The Truth of the Political"). The final chapter title is perhaps the most striking in terms of its questionability - while the French chapter title could either be rendered as 'Millennial' or 'Millennium' (of or for a thousand years), the translator has chosen the title of "The Task of Thought," which completely occludes the political resonance, and its détournement, at work in Lacoue-Labarthe's title. Such interpretive choices on the part of the translator far extend the licence granted to them by the work of translation, and set this text - a faulted publication - in a light which is regrettable, given the importance of this text for thinking through the question of Heidegger's thought and politics, which may not be recognizable to those who do not have access to reading the original French...

[Ammon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Along with Derrida's Of Spirit, one of the two best philosophical considerations of the meaning of Heidegger's National Socialism in the context of his philosophy. The notion of national aestheticism is crucial for understanding what Heidegger thought he was getting himself into and what he actually got himself into. One of the most important projects of Lacoue-Labarthe's other works is to recuperate an understanding of ontology and poetry other than this national aestheticism (what Derrida calls Lacoue-Labarthe's "positive deconstruction." This book only hints at how this is done; nonetheless, crucial reading for anyone interested in properly contextualizing Heidegger's understanding art and ontology .

[Ziad · Rating 4 out of 5]

basically arguing that "the Heidegger Affair" was not an error, that there is a continuity between Heidegger pre-1933 and after-1933, i.e. the Heidegger turn. However, it's not a condemnation. Lacoue-Labarthe contends that Heidegger's work can shed light on Nazism itself, exactly through his insistence on the aesthetic after 1934. A good read, may be deceptive in its short length, but dense and enlightening.

[Alex Cistelecan · Rating 3 out of 5]

l'elegance du sophisme.