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Heidegger on Freedom: Political not Metaphysical

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

Leslie Paul Thiele
Leslie Paul Thiele
Affiliation:
University of Florida
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Abstract

This essay analyzes modern and postmodern concepts of freedom and contrasts them to a Heideggerian understanding. Positive, negative, and what might be called Foucaultian or Nietzschean liberty are demonstrated to bear a common trait. In such modern and postmodern formulations, freedom is consistently identified with a form of mastery. This identification of freedom with mastery, I argue, encourages ecological abuse, supports the dangerous prerogatives of statist sovereignty, and strengthens the resilience of patriarchy. The political significance of Heidegger's alternative vision is addressed.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 278 - 291
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1994

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