The Duplicity of Philosophy's Shadow

Elliot R. Wolfson intervenes in the debate over Martin Heidegger and Nazism from a unique perspective, as a scholar of Jewish mysticism and philosophy who has been profoundly influenced by Heidegger’s work. He reveals crucial aspects of Heidegger’s thinking that betray an affinity with dimensions of Jewish thought.

Elliot R. Wolfson is the Marsha and Jay Glazer Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and Distinguished Professor of Religion at University of California, Santa Barbara. A fellow of the American Academy of Jewish Research and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is the author of many books including Language, Eros, Being: Kabbalistic Hermeneutics and Poetic Imagination (2005); Open Secret: Postmessianic Messianism and the Mystical Revision of Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson (Columbia, 2009); A Dream Interpreted Within a Dream: Oneiropoiesis and the Prism of Imagination (2011); and Giving Beyond the Gift: Apophasis and Overcoming Theomania (2014).

Elad Lapidot, Free University of Berlin:
Neither apologetic nor denunciatory, Wolfson masterfully summons the lucidity of a philosopher, the erudition of a scholar, and the profoundness of a mystic to face one of modern thought’s most disturbing riddles: how could Heidegger bring so much philosophical light and evince so much political darkness? In this powerful, crepuscular display, Heideggerian and kabbalistic insights on the ambiguity of truth converge to elucidate the philosopher’s very darkness as the shadow of his philosophical radiance.

William Franke, Vanderbilt University:
In The Duplicity of Philosophy’s Shadow, Wolfson gathers together immense amounts of documentation and compresses it into a lively, readable analysis that combines scope and comprehensiveness with incisive focus on the core issues. He has the talent and the patience to deliver the painstaking labor necessary to provide such syntheses. Wolfson’s scholarly expertise deeply impresses this work with his own signature.

Aaron W. Hughes, University of Rochester:
The Duplicity of Philosophy's Shadow represents one of the most sustained and creative engagements with the legacy of Heidegger. Rather than marginalize Heidegger and ostracize those who engage his writings, Wolfson instead opts for critical engagement and intellectual honesty. His poetic wrestling is simultaneously exciting and timely.

Avital Ronell, New York University:
If Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe was right when stating that the ‘secret of Nazism is buried in Heidegger,’ we must face down this troubled legacy. Elliot Wolfson leads us to the uncomfortable zone of true thinking. Without condemnation but on the razor’s edge of incessant probing, the work calls up a recasting of political engagement. Mere condemnation or strategies of avoidance can no longer cut it.