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Title: The Question of Being: A Reversal of Heidegger by Stanley Rosen ISBN: 1-58731-675-7 Publisher: Saint Augustine's Pr Pub. Date: April, 2002 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Necessary if flawed
Comment: Stanley Rosen has developed quite a reputation for challenging philosophical orthodoxies. The latest, and to a certain extent currently reigning, orthodoxy is Heidegger's conception of the history of metaphysics or Platonism. Of course in Heidegger's history metaphysics reached its culmination with Nietzsche. Therefore Rosen thoroughly examines Heidegger's interpretation of both Plato and Nietzsche, with significant attention to Plato's immediate successor, Aristotle, and Nietzsche's own predecessor Kant.
Rosen argues that Heidegger mistakenly imputed Aristotle's ontology of being qua being to Plato. In a rich and detailed analysis Rosen shows how Heidegger surreptitiously conflates Aristotle's categories to Plato's Ideas, all of which is connected to Heidegger's "discovery" of the ontological difference of Being and beings. Incidentally, Rosen states that Heidegger's initial (pre _Being and Time_) interpretation of Plato is much closer to being correct than his later interpretation because there he leaves much of Platonic ontological ambiguity in tact. Rosen is a well known proponent of the dramatic school of interpretion of the Platonic dialogues.
Now, in order to give a full exegesis of Heidegger's history of metaphysics, Platonism, Rosen also thoroughly analyzes Heidegger's reading of Nietzsche. Much of Rosen's reading centers on Nietzsche's and Heidegger's analysis of Nietzsche's notion of nihilism. Rosen sides with Nietzsche's interpretation of nihilism against Heidegger and states "[m]y remarks...have had more than one purpose, but not the least of these is to support the contention that Heidegger's interpretation of Nietzschean nihilism is unsound. If Nietzsche, as a political thinker, forgot about the absence of Being, he was well advised to do so. As a matter of fact, the nihilism of the nineteenth century and by entension twentieth century had and has nothing to do with either the forgetting or the remembering of the absence of Being. It arose for the reasons given in detail by Nietzsche..." (288).
Rosen is extremely well versed in the history of philosophy and an unquestionable expert on Plato. _The Question of Being_ is, as others have pointed out, difficult. Rosen is not difficult in the way of Heidegger by creating neologisms but rather in the conceptual power and complexity of his thought. Doubtless Heideggerians would object to what they would see as the reductive aspects of Rosen's reading of Heidegger. Here we could respond with Rosen that excising some of Heidegger's obscurantism is necessary if we are to actually get anything out of Heidegger's "creative" language. If we can read Heidegger only on Heidegger's terms then constructive dialogue is not possible. I have given this book four rather than five stars because of Rosen's political reasons for giving a salutary intepretation of Nietzschean _physis_.
Rating: 5
Summary: Not for the faint of heart
Comment: While I agree with the previous reviewer's assessment of Rosen's originality it seems that there is a bit of confusion which I think should be clarified. This book is a careful, profoundly original discussion of Heidegger's misunderstanding of Plato and how it fundamentally colored the rest of his thinking. In order to clarify where Heidegger went wrong Rosen deems it necessary to embark on lengthy, difficult discussions of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and Nietzsche. He also deems it necessary to take an occasional swipe at some of Heidegger's less-talented progeny as they are oblivious to the very difficulties their misreadings imply and their influence within the Academy is undeniable. Furthermore, in the case of Plato, it becomes necessary to "save" the dialogues from their many positivist admirers and interpreters. The tone of the book is not so much polemical as exegetical, and it is studded with Rosen's subtle humor. [N.B. This may be the source of the previous reviewer's accusations of "arrogance" ie. the self-confidence of the knower as opposed to the tentative gropings of the blind.]
Rosen's "platonism" is not the neo-platonism which has been handed down to us by Iamblichus, Albinus, and Plotinus but a substantially "deeper" platonism which does not assume that the dialogues were loaded with metaphysical dogma. To paraphrase Rosen, the history of "platonism" begins with Aristotle. From this standpoint the literary structure of the dialogues are as important as the allegedly "technical" discussions of "doctrines" which have been canonized in the secondary literature. Rosen's sympathies always lie with Plato but he is very careful to cite instances where he agrees with Heidegger, Nietzsche, or Kant. Indeed, his judicious and balanced discussions of these men lay bare the fundamental problems which each philosopher was attempting to confront and overcome. He does not, however, spare any of these men when their conclusions went awry. No sound writing should avoid this responsibility, though it can be done well or done poorly, depending upon the writer.
The book engages in a lengthy discussion of Heidegger's misinterpretation of "greek ontology" and in particular with regards to Plato. Rosen demonstrates the untenability of Heidegger's claims about a "general concept of being" animating greek philosophy. He also engages in an original reading of the central section of Plato's "Phaedo" as a way of contrasting Plato's slippery discussion with Heidegger's static, professorial interpretation. In effect we are led to realize that Heidegger read into Plato (and Aristotle) what he wanted to in order to make certain claims about them later on. Rosen also spends a bit of time on Heidegger's own political nihilism which he perceives as being fundamentally grounded in his philosophy. Along the way Rosen points out how Nietzsche's claims to having overcome Plato are really just less coherent instances of a quasi-platonic teaching and that Kant's transcendental ego is fundamentally flawed.
As the title of my review indicates, this book is not for the "uninitiated." It delves very deeply into areas of philosophy which most will find baffling. If, however, you want a challenging, profound discussion of philosophy and some of its most famous practitioners this book will reward many a careful reading. It will remind the reader that philosophy isn't the logic-chopping or ethical blather which we hear so often today, but is, has been, and always will be about what is the best life and how can we lead it.
Rating: 4
Summary: rigorous, quirky, and more than a little arrogant
Comment: This book is vintage Rosen, which means any number of both good and bad things. Let's begin with the positive. Rosen is one of the most intelligent philosophy professors in America today. He is a maverick extremely well-grounded in the great works of the tradition, and a strong enough personality to cut his own path amidst the hundreds of slavish devotees of today's most fashionable philosophical currents. At times, he also displays a hilarious mastery of polemical writing techniques. Anyone reading his books is bound to end up with a renewed appreciation for the virtues of intellectual independence.
But the bad is here as well. As Nietzsche once wrote of the work of Ernst Renan, there often seems to be more ambition than love of truth in these pages. Rosen is a committed if somewhat unorthodox Platonist, and he spends an awful lot of time writing books about authors for whom he has no philosophical sympathy whatsoever, Heidegger among them. While the final product is a commentary far more interesting than those of Heidegger's rather bland followers, Rosen's goal is ultimately nothing more than to cut Heidegger down to size. The result of this ought to be a fine defense of an ancient thinker against the premature revolutionary claims of 20th century philosophy, but the arrogance of the author's tone is simply that of a competitive academic defending his turf. The book also suffers from some stylistic awkwardness-- taken alone, many of its metaphors are quite striking, but the overall effect of the prose is choppy, even nervous.
Rosen's works are among the most original philosophical writings being published today. Their petulant and often rambling style can be off-putting at first, but the patient reader will be amply repaid for her efforts.
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Title: Nihilism: A Philosophical Essay (Carthage Reprint) by Stanley Rosen ISBN: 1890318450 Publisher: Saint Augustine's Pr Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Hermeneutics As Politics by Stanley Rosen, Robert B. Pippin ISBN: 0300099878 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Heidegger's Contributions to Philosophy: An Introduction (Studies in Continental Thought) by Daniela Vallega-Neu ISBN: 0253215994 Publisher: Indiana University Press Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: The Ancients and the Moderns: Rethinking Modernity by Stanley Rosen ISBN: 1587310244 Publisher: Saint Augustine's Pr Pub. Date: March, 2002 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: The New Science of Politics by Eric Voegelin, Dante L. Germino ISBN: 0226861147 Publisher: University of Chicago Press Pub. Date: September, 1987 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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