Abstract

Today the integrity of political theory is questioned by postmodern attempts to deconstruct its foundations in nature and science. The origin of this approach lies in the work of Martin Heidegger. In this dissertation I present a chronological investigation of crucial Heideggerian texts that present his attempt to get beyond moral and political concepts such as "man," "polis," and "practice." ;I begin with a partial reading of $\underline{\rm Being\ and\ Time}$, a reading that emphasizes a dilemma in which the work culminates: politics becomes a question of history, but the relentless attack on the "public realm" still necessitates a "non-public" politics. This dilemma is taken up in my philosophical examination of Heidegger's Nazism, presenting a reading of the infamous Rectoral Address of 1933 and of Heidegger's proto-Nazi interpretations of the Greek polis . I argue that, for a brief time , there is a "political moment" in Heidegger linking Heideggerian deconstruction to totalitarianism. However, Heidegger's growing disenchantment with the Nazis as well as intensive study of Nietzsche led him to conclude that the Greek polis had no political content. This claim is the high point of Heideggerian deconstruction, for it undermines the possibility of political philosophy. I investigate it in Chapter 4. In two more chapters, exploring some of Heidegger's later texts, I argue that the "late Heidegger" must forsake all potential origins of political philosophy in order to develop a post-philosophical thinking. ;I conclude that Heidegger's attempt to deconstruct political or practical philosophy poses a major challenge. It also demonstrates, however, that the necessity for an origin--such as "practice" or the "polis"--of political philosophy remains. I point to the work of Hannah Arendt and Leo Strauss, both of whom undertake the re-appropriation of political philosophy