Podcast Summary: New Books Network

Episode: Richard Wolin, "Heidegger in Ruins: Between Philosophy and Ideology" (Yale UP, 2023)

Host: Ryan Tripp
Guest: Richard Wolin, Distinguished Professor at CUNY Graduate Center
Date: January 2, 2026

Overview

This episode features a detailed interview with Richard Wolin about his book Heidegger in Ruins: Between Philosophy and Ideology. The conversation explores Martin Heidegger’s philosophical legacy, his entanglement with National Socialism, the intertwining of philosophy and ideology in his work, issues of translation and missing texts, the ideological undercurrents in his thought, and the resonance of these themes in present-day right-wing movements.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introducing Heidegger: Philosophy and Ideology

[02:13]

• Heidegger’s Significance: Regarded as one of the most important 20th-century philosophers, primarily due to Being and Time (1927), aiming to reformulate Western philosophy by focusing on the "existence of Dasein"—human existence-in-the-world.
• Legacy: Influenced thinkers such as Emmanuel Levinas and Jacques Derrida. Derrida’s "deconstruction" is directly tied to Heidegger’s critique of Western metaphysics.
• Central Tension: Wolin explains his subtitle—"Between Philosophy and Ideology” as reflecting the coalescence in Heidegger between fundamental ontology (asking about Being itself) and attachment to currents of German exceptionalism, anti-democratic, and anti-Enlightenment ideologies.

Quote:
"These two aspects of Heidegger's thought, namely first philosophy, fundamental ontology... and what I'm calling as a shorthand ideology... are very much present in his writing in all its phases."
— Wolin [08:27]

2. Heidegger’s Engagement with National Socialism

[09:42]

• Joining the Nazi Party (1933): Heidegger was motivated by a sense of civilizational crisis, drawing on Nietzsche's critique of nihilism and Spengler's Decline of the West.
• Attempted Leadership: He aspired to be the philosophical guide ("lead the leader") to Hitler, seeing himself as fundamental to a new beginning for Germany.
• Resignation as Rector (1934): Officially attributed to resistance, but Wolin stresses the faculty’s pushback against Heidegger’s abrupt Nazi alignment at the University of Freiburg.
• Post-Rectorship Involvement: He did not retreat from public life, joining Hans Frank’s Academy for German Law alongside Carl Schmitt and Alfred Rosenberg.
• The Black Notebooks: Beginning publication in 2014, these volumes are key to understanding Heidegger’s meta-commentary on politics and his ongoing philosophical justification for his ideological commitments.

Quote:
"He really did for a time attempt to assume the intellectual and philosophical leadership of the Nazi movement... He tried to lead the leader."
— Wolin [10:42]

3. Textual Issues: Missing Manuscripts and Translations

[18:23]

• Missing Volumes and Editorial Manipulation: Some Black Notebooks went missing due to odd personal circumstances and editorial choices; Wolin recounts a tale of a notebook kept for decades by Heidegger’s lover’s son.
• Translation Dilemmas: Key terms like Volk (people/folk) are mistranslated in ways that downplay their racial and ideological inflections in early 1930s National Socialism. Such choices contribute to disguising Heidegger’s ideological slant in philosophical translations.

Quote:
"If one translates it as 'people', 'folk' as 'people', this is definitely going to be misleading... it tends to really airbrush or factor out the ideological slant of his thinking."
— Wolin [22:33]

4. Historicity and Ideological Commitment

[24:56]

• "History of Being" (Seinsgeschichte): Marks a shift from existential ontology toward a historical metaphysics, influenced by the pre-Socratics (especially Heraclitus).
• German Exceptionality: Heidegger saw "German Dasein" as metaphysically privileged, uniquely linked to the Greek "beginning"—a narrative deeply intertwined with German nationalism and National Socialist ideology.
• Letters to His Brother: Demonstrate Heidegger’s engagement with current events and active political judgments, contradicting portrayals of him as apolitical or detached.

5. Antisemitism and Ontology

[32:58]

• Foundational Antisemitism: Wolin argues that antisemitism in Heidegger is not superficial, but structurally bound to his concepts of rootedness, worldlessness, and the "otherness" of Jews.
• Worldlessness: Heidegger claimed Jews, as cosmopolitans not rooted in soil, are "worldless" and lack historical authenticity—mirroring common antisemitic clichés of the era.

Quote:
"Because Jews are, quote unquote, worldless, one cannot—they have no capacity for authenticity and hence their existence is intrinsically or ontologically faulty."
— Wolin [41:32]

6. Plato, Poetic Legislators, and Pedagogy

[44:32]

• Platonic Guardians and Service: Heidegger drew on Plato’s division of society, referencing “service in knowledge” drawn from both philosophical and Platonic lineage to justify academic hierarchy and the philosopher’s leadership role.
• Poet as Legislator: Influenced by Holderlin, Heidegger shifts toward seeing poets as founders of historical being.

7. Nazi Pedagogy and the Meaning of Work

[49:21]

• "Arbeit Macht Frei" and National Work Ethic: Heidegger valorizes work (Arbeit) as an ontological mission, aligning with Nazi glorification of labor and its anti-communist appropriation.
• Joy in Work: Draws on both Black Forest craftsmanship and responsiveness to Taylorism, likening joy in work to a means for National Socialism to reconcile workers with the German community.
• Technology’s Role: Heidegger recognized the necessity of integrating technology with national values—contradicting his later reputation solely as a critic of technology.

Quote:
"He glorifies the concept of Arbeit, or work, which he actually speaks of as a legitimate philosophical category... through which we unveil the world or the being of beings."
— Wolin [54:40]

8. Holocaust, Responsibility, and Heidegger’s Postwar Thought

[59:17]

• Jewish Self-Annihilation: Heidegger’s postwar Black Notebooks include the chilling idea that the Holocaust was a form of "Jewish self-annihilation," a view that deflects agency from perpetrators and embeds atrocity within a narrative about impersonal destiny and industrial modernity.
• Critical Blind Spots: Wolin faults Heidegger’s metaphysics of impersonal Being for its incapacity to account for moral responsibility.

9. Region, Rootedness, and Anti-Cosmopolitanism

[67:44]

• Swabian Homeland: Heidegger’s attachment to the Swabian landscape is both personal and philosophical, reinforcing his anti-cosmopolitanism and anti-universalism—traits that remained prominent in his postwar thought.

Quote:
"Anything great is rooted in local soil. Any great work of art is rooted in locality and place."
— Wolin, quoting Heidegger [70:54]

10. Politicized Space and Lebensraum

[75:09]

• Raumpolitik: Heidegger, influenced by contemporary geopolitics, argued for German self-assertion through territorial expansion. This aligned philosophy with National Socialist ambitions of Lebensraum (living space).
• Existential Ontology Meets Ideological Politics: Wolin details how categories of place, space, and folk were not merely abstract, but rationalized expansionist and exclusionary ambitions.

11. Heraclitus, Conflict, and the Political

[85:06]

• Polemos (Conflict) as Principle: Drawing from Heraclitus ("war is the father of all things"), Heidegger, alongside thinkers like Carl Schmitt, validates conflict as a generative force, justifying perpetual mobilization and struggle—resonant with Nazi and New Right themes.

12. Myth, Reason, and the New Right

[97:23]

• Resurgence of Myth: Heidegger’s suspicion of rationality and valorization of myth provides philosophical foundation for the revival of myth-driven and anti-Enlightenment currents in today’s far right.
• Global Influence: Figures like Russia’s Alexander Dugin and the French Nouvelle Droite appropriate Heidegger’s ideas of rootedness and ethnos for contemporary nationalist and identitarian ideologies.
• Replacement Theory: Wolin connects the genealogy of exclusionary and ethno-centered citizenship back to Heidegger’s anti-cosmopolitan ideas.

Quote:
"It's actually kind of surprising to see a thinker as at times impenetrable as Heidegger being invoked even superficially by the contemporary New Right."
— Wolin [101:08]

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• "He really did for a time attempt to assume the intellectual and philosophical leadership of the Nazi movement... He tried to lead the leader." – Richard Wolin, [10:42]
• "These two aspects of Heidegger's thought... fundamental ontology... and what I'm calling as a shorthand ideology... are very much present in his writing in all its phases." – Richard Wolin, [08:27]
• "If one translates it as 'people', 'folk' as 'people', this is definitely going to be misleading... it tends to really airbrush or factor out the ideological slant of his thinking." – Richard Wolin, [22:33]
• "Because Jews are, quote unquote, worldless, one cannot—they have no capacity for authenticity and hence their existence is intrinsically or ontologically faulty." – Richard Wolin, [41:32]
• "Anything great is rooted in local soil. Any great work of art is rooted in locality and place." – Richard Wolin/Heidegger, [70:54]
• "It's actually kind of surprising to see a thinker as at times impenetrable as Heidegger being invoked even superficially by the contemporary New Right." – Richard Wolin, [101:08]

Important Segment Timestamps

• 02:13 — Introduction to Heidegger’s philosophy and ideological context
• 09:42 — Heidegger’s involvement with National Socialism
• 18:23 — On missing texts and translation issues
• 24:56 — The history of being, German exceptionalism, and Black Notebooks
• 32:58 — Antisemitism and ontological worldlessness
• 44:32 — Plato, poet-legislators, and education
• 49:21 — Heidegger’s philosophy of work, technology, and Nazi pedagogy
• 59:17 — Holocaust, responsibility, and Heidegger’s postwar writings
• 67:44 — Regional identity, rootedness, and anti-cosmopolitanism
• 75:09 — Raum-politik, geopolitics, and Lebensraum
• 85:06 — Heraclitus, polemos, and the justification of conflict
• 97:23 — Myth, reason, and resonance with the New Right

Tone and Language

Wolin maintains a sober, analytic tone, blending historical-philosophical insight with a critical stance. He avoids polemic, instead striving for nuance, historical specificity, and careful interpretation of primary texts—often calling for critical engagement over hagiography or apologetics.

Conclusion and Future Directions

[107:31]

• Wolin plans to focus his research on the contemporary far right and the influence of interwar conservative revolutionary thought, as the resurgence of right-wing populism and ideologies draws heavily on the same philosophical resources discussed in Heidegger’s case.

Quote:
"We're in a very different world today... there's a reliance for ideological support on the part of these New Right thinkers... So hopefully I can play the role of someone who can communicate and make links between the original context of the development of these ideas and the contemporary use."
— Wolin [109:45]

For those seeking a searching, critical investigation of the philosophical and ideological currents underlying Heidegger’s work, their historical consequences, and their shadow in today’s politics, this episode is invaluable.