Arendt and Heidegger: the fate of the political

345 Pages·1996·2.32 MB·English

by  Dana Villa

Arendt and Heidegger

Arendt and Heidegger
THE FATE OF THE POLITICAL
• DANA R. VILLA •
P R I N C E T O N U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S
P R I N C E T O N , N E W J E R S E Y
Copyright(cid:211) 1996byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,Chichester,WestSussex
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Villa,DanaRichard.
ArendtandHeidegger:thefateofthepolitical/DanaR.Villa.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0–691–04401–5(CL:alk.paper).—ISBN0–691–04400–7(pbk.:alk.paper)
1.Arendt,Hannah—Contributionsinpoliticalscience.
2.Heidegger,Martin,1889–1976—Contributionsinpoliticalscience.
3.Politicalscience—Philosophy. I.Title.
JC251.A74V55 1995.
320¢.092¢2—dc20 95–13293
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• TO MY PARENTS •
A L F R E D V I L L A A N D
V I R G I N I A B A R R E T T V I L L A

• C O N T E N T S •
PREFACE xi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
ANOTETOTHEREADER xiv
LISTOFABBREVIATIONS xv
INTRODUCTION 3
TheProblemofActioninArendt 3
PARTI:ARENDT’STHEORYOFPOLITICALACTION 15
CHAPTER1
Arendt,Aristotle,andAction 17
I.AristotleandArendtontheSelf-ContainednessofAction 17
II. Applying the Criterion: Arendt’s Descriptions of Labor, Work, and
Action 25
III.TheIdeaofa“Self-Contained”Politics 36
CHAPTER2
ThinkingActionagainsttheTradition 42
I.TeleologyversusSelf-Containedness 42
II.TheAntipoliticalQualityofAristotelianPraxis 49
III.AutonomousAction:PoliticsasPerformingArt 52
IV.Arendt’sCritiqueoftheModernTurntoWillandHistory 59
V.Conclusion:BeyondAristotleandKant 77
CHAPTER3
Arendt,Nietzsche,andthe“Aestheticization”ofPoliticalAction 80
I.Introduction 80
II.NonsovereigntyandthePerformanceModel:Arendt’sAnti-Platonism 82
III.TheDisclosiveNatureof“Aestheticized”Action 89
IV.LimitingtheAgon:DifferenceandPlurality,Perspectivismand
Judgment 99
PARTII:ARENDTANDHEIDEGGER 111
CHAPTER4
TheHeideggerianRootsofArendt’sPoliticalTheory 113
I.Introduction:TheOntological-PoliticalStakesofArendt’sTheoryof
Action 113
viii • C O N T E N T S •
II.TheAbyssofFreedomandDasein’sDisclosedness:ThinkingFreedominIts
WorldlinessandContingency 117
III. Heidegger’s Distinction between Authentic and Inauthentic Disclosedness
andArendt’sAppropriation 130
CHAPTER5
GroundlessAction,GroundlessJudgment:Politicsafter
Metaphysics 144
I.TheSecondLevelofAppropriation:TheDialecticofTranscendence/Every-
daynessandArendt’sOntologyofthePublicWorld 144
II.BeingasAppearing:Post-NietzscheanOntologyandtheEvanescenceofthe
Political 150
III.TheProblemofGroundlessActionandJudgment 155
IV. The Tradition as Reification: Productionist Metaphysics and the With-
drawalofthePolitical 166
CHAPTER6
TheCritiqueofModernity 171
I.Introduction:ArendtandHeideggerasCriticsofModernity 171
II.Heidegger:TheMetaphysicsoftheModernsandtheSubjectificationofthe
Real 175
Self-AssertionasSelf-Grounding:The“Inauthenticity”ofModernity 175
TheWilltoWillandtheConquestoftheWorldasPicture 178
TechnologyasaModeofRevealing:The“BrinkofaPrecipitousFall” 182
III.ArendtonModernity:WorldAlienationandtheWithdrawalofthePolitical 188
ModernWorldAlienationandtheSubjectificationoftheReal 188
FromHomoFabertotheAnimalLaborans:Instrumentality,Technology,andthe
“DestructionoftheCommonWorld” 193
IV. A “Rejectionist Critique”? Thinking the Present from an Arendtian
Perspective 202
PARTIII:THECRITIQUEOFHEIDEGGER’S
PHILOSOPHICAL POLITICS 209
CHAPTER7
Arendt,Heidegger,andtheOblivionofPraxis 211
I.Introduction 211
II.Heidegger’sConceptofthePolitical 212
TheDevaluationofCommunicativeActionandthePublicSphereinBeingand
Time 212
ThePoeticModelofDisclosureintheWorkoftheThirties 219
The“OblivionofPraxis”inHeidegger’sLaterWork 224
III.Arendt’sHeideggerCritique:TheUnworldlinessofthePhilosopher 230
• C O N T E N T S • ix
CHAPTER8
Heidegger,Poixsis,andPolitics 241
I.TheAmbiguityofHeidegger’sContributiontotheOblivionofPraxis 241
II.PoliticsasPlasticArt:TheProductionistParadigmandtheProblemofHei-
degger’sAestheticism 246
III.Art,Technology,andTotalitarianism 253
IV.QuestionsConcerningTechnology—andtheRethinkingofAction 260
V.Heidegger,Arendt,andtheQuestionof“Faith”inHumanAction 267
NOTES 271
BIBLIOGRAPHY 313
INDEX 323