Heidegger and the political: considerations in light of the “mythology of the ereignis”

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to reconstruct and articulate the fundamental elements of the problematic of the political in Martin Heidegger’s thought, circumscribing them within the historico-ontological interpretation of the Ereignis-Denken. Based on the concept of the “mythology of the appropriative-event [Ereignis]”, the study explores how this structure is constitutively traversed by a determinate mode of thinking the political. To this end, it analyzes the Heideggerian reference to the pólis as pólos, that is, as the unifying axis of Dasein’s historical existence. Furthermore, the paper examines the ontologico-political dimension of the ontological difference, understood in this context as a structuring differentiation between the native and the foreign, which may shed light on the metaphysical roots of Heidegger's “effective politics”. It also addresses the problem of the essence of the State as the figure (Gestalt) of a people and discusses the status of the Führerprinzip (leadership/conduction principle) through the framework of the poetic-political syntagma inspired by Hölderlin and the Greek experience. Ultimately, this work intends to open a window of attention to Heidegger’s thought as an effort towards a transcendental foundation of political mythology; this would assist in understanding his historical engagement with National Socialism and offer crucial elements to criticize and prevent the traits and risks associated with the persistence of this onto-mythologico-political a priori.