Abstract

Beginning with Heidegger is an in-depth examination of the influence that Martin Heidegger's inceptual thought exerted on Leo Strauss, Richard Rorty, Jacques Derrida and Alexander Dugin. How did these vastly different thinkers employ Heideggerian concepts to define their own philosophies and often antagonistic politics? After outlining Heidegger's main philosophical points, it discusses attacks on and the misuse of Heidegger's ideas to advance Rorty's left-leaning and liberal political agenda as well as the different interpretations that Strauss and Heidegger offer regarding Plato's notion of the Good. It also looks at the existential rebirth in Russia that Heidegger's groundbreaking theories and Dugin's extension of them made possible. The role of Heidegger's notion of "Dasein" is the key to a Eurasian awakening for not just one but for many peoples of the heartland. In this respect, both Heidegger and Dugin seem to be the lights that guide a people without a philosophy into a destiny filled with meaning and identity. The book calls for the incorporation of Heidegger's thinking into the field of political philosophy and cautions against the distorting effects of our prevailing political prejudices.