Heidegger=autistic

Post Reply New Topic

Now that I have read a couple pages about him in Wiki I can see that, yes, he was a member of the Nazi party. But he also had two Jewish girlfriends. One of whom he helped to escape to America. And maybe you're right- that he left the Nazi party after one year. I dunno. But yeah... he couldn't have been much of party line Nazi.

As far as him being an Aspie. From both the article you cite, and from the Wiki article, there just isn't much there to go on, or to suggest that to me. Sorry. If there was morethere about him as a person to go on maybe I would see it.

No sorry needed. There's indeed not any objective source indicating that he was Autist

And I doubt there will be because one can not do an objective assessment of long dead people. One does not know the persons inner thoughts or how they were when they were very young. All one can see is autistic traits described by other people who most likely did not what what autism is because for most of history nobody knew about autism. Autistic traits are present in other conditions. Words and phrases often had different implications back then.

It is fine to say I suspect this historical figure was autistic. It is fine to say many philosophers demonstrated autistic traits therefore I think it is a bad idea to get rid of autism.

One should not blankly state that a historical figure was autistic.

I don't know anything about Heidegger as being autistic, but in regard to him being a Nazi party member, he later admitted to his former Jewish student, Hannah Arrendt (who had coined the phrase, "The banality of evil" during the Eichmann trial) who he had had an affair with, that joining the Nazis was the worst mistake of his life. The ignorant, racist Nazis used to ridicule him for his college boy talk, so the feeling was probably mutual. As for autism, it is true that Aspies are often too credulous and can be taken advantage of, so I suppose there is a possibility.

... which seems suspiciously like he was using his alleged dislike of the Nazis to get into the young woman's knickers, don't you think?

So now its now YOUR turn to posthumously convict Heideggar on flimsy evidence- in the very same thread that you just beat up on Grischa for dong that very same thing?

No, it's only a suspicion, not an accusation; but I have seen playahs and PUAs use similar tactics to pick up women, so how far-fetched is it to consider the idea that it might be true for a dead historical figure? That is what I have been trying to get at -- "While it may or may not be true, no one knows for sure."

People should be clear on whether they (we) are posting suspicions, opinions, or historical facts.

Actually, he had already gotten into them some time before, back when she was still his student. By this time, I believe he and Arrendt were friends rather than intimate anymore.

I got the feeling that many philosophers and scientists had autistic traits, though I could be wrong. Gottlob Frege comes to mind. Newton? Emperor Julian? Cato the younger?
I think it has to do with our obsession with truth,being uncompromising and ability to achieve a high degree of focus on our interests.

I think it has much more to do with wishful thinking and confirmation bias.

This!

I studied a degree in philosophy and could think some philosophers might be. Maybe Heidegger, maybe others, but we really don't know. I don't even think the evidence is stronger for him than many other historical people.

Thank you.

What you posted reminded me of something Plato once said: "I know that I know nothing". Certainly, we cannot know everything, and when the only 'proof' we have is suspicion, then we know even less.

I have seen many "is/was so-in-so autistic?". Or the outright claim that so-in-so is/was autistic. Rarely do I see it presented as so-in-so seems/seemed to have autistic traits. There is no way to establish if a dead person was autistic of course. But one could form a consensus that that person seemed to exhibit autistic traits. And leave it at that instead of getting dogmatic over conjecture.

I've read the posts, and tried to adjust the text on Heidegger.
I skipped autism and now call it "Heidegger and the Self" (not "Heidegger and Autism", autism is still in the URL, though)

https://medium.com/being-and-time/heide ... 6cfca5511d
https://medium.com/being-and-time

I liked the reaction by Erewhon that Self is Autos in Greek and that this is also in Aut-ism, but I also liked the reactions that you cannot just say that one and one is two
Apparently I have to learn a lot. Don't you people have that, I guess an autistic trait, that you get "obsessed" with a subject and than overreact (as I apparently did)

I mean I think some historical figures can have certain diagnoses, but like this is a little more of a stretch. I think Silberman in Neurotribes takes one or two but those ones there is some evidence for beyond what I read on Heidegger.

It could be wishful thinking, but too much skepticism is not necessarily a good thing as long as we make our lack of certainty known. A speculative trial and error approach can also teach you a lot.