Correspondencia 8: 1920-1963

by Martin Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Hans Saner

Heidegger y Jaspers se conocieron a principios de 1920 en casa de Husserl en Friburgo. A partir de ese momento, primero hasta 1936 y posteriormente desde 1949 hasta 1963, mantuvieron una correspondencia de la que se conservan un total de 155 cartas, que son las que se recogen en este volumen.

Genres: Philosophy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher whose work is perhaps most readily associated with phenomenology and existentialism, although his thinking should be identified as part of such philosophical movements only with extreme care and qualification. His ideas have exerted a seminal influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy. They have also had an impact far beyond philosophy, for example in architectural theory (see e.g., Sharr 2007), literary criticism (see e.g., Ziarek 1989), theology (see e.g., Caputo 1993), psychotherapy (see e.g., Binswanger 1943/1964, Guignon 1993) and cognitive science (see e.g., Dreyfus 1992, 2008; Wheeler 2005; Kiverstein and Wheeler forthcoming).

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1920, the young and unknown Heidegger wrote a critical review of Jasper's book “Psychology of Worldviews”. Jasper was impressed by the article and by the young philosopher; and consequently opened himself to him and offered his friendship. In a few years they become very close friends; as they met and discussed philosophy for days at a time. They even planned a new journal where the two of them will take on the philosophy of their time. Their correspondence is full of discussions regarding professors appointments and recommendations in the German university system. Heidegger always met with Jasper and asked for his advice before making any decisions regarding different academic offers. After Heidegger's acceptance of the Nazi's rectorship in 1933, all the communications between the two ceased for more than 10 years. In 1945, Jasper recommended to the denazification committee that Heidegger should be banned from teaching for several years – and this indeed happened. In the same letter, Jasper denounced Heidegger's thinking as some kind of mystical nonsense. They tried to reconnect and forgive each other before dying, but this was no longer possible – as Heidegger refused to acknowledge any guilt and to apologize in private or public. Jasper never fully grasped Heidegger's philosophical project and he was terrified by what he glimpsed from Heidegger's thoughts. In one such final letter, Heidegger criticized Jasper's approach to technology as too simplistic and presented his own understanding of current technology that started with Plato's ideas and in the light of Being. Jasper in turn wrote to Heidegger about old memories, guilt, repentance, and his incomprehension of truth as unconcealment.