Heidegger's The Origin of the Work of Art: Part I

***Rescheduling this for obvious reasons -- July 4 is not the most opportune time to have this discussion and folk are likely unavailable* Many people are familiar with the German philosopher Martin Heidegger through his widely considered magnum opus, Being and Time. But what did Heidegger after Being and Time think? How did his philosophical project evolve? Unbeknownst to general English-speaking audiences, Heidegger remained prolific throughout his life even though he did not produce an original work of the systematic caliber of Being and Time. In this meetup, we will focus on a text called the "The Origin of the Work of Art" published in 1935. The title is deceptively naive and belies what Heidegger is up to, which is nothing less than gesturing toward an answer to the fundamental question he has already raised in his prior work and simultaneously subjecting the present (or then present) cultural moment to scrutiny within that frame. This work serves as a gateway to Heidegger's post Being and Time thought both thematically and stylistically. The text consists of an introduction and three sections: i. Thing and Work, ii. The Work and Truth, iii. Truth and Art. Please read up to the end of the Thing and Work section for our first meeting. In it, Heidegger adopts a wider lens than the narrower scope of Being and Time as the existential analytic of Dasein. However, just as in the former, the wider frame of fundamental ontology is not abandoned. Rather, Heidegger pursues the subject through a combination of stylistically lyrical prose rich with metaphor and his familiar circuitous philosophical phraseology strewn with concepts like the Open, the clearing, Unconcealedness, world and earth, to name a few. We will proceed together through a slow reading of Heidegger's work divided in three parts corresponding to each of the sections. Setting up context through Heidegger's earlier work will be encouraged. Familiarity with Being and Time is helpful though not required (however some familiarity with his ideas is necessary). We will strive to draw connections to the project in Being and Time as well as sites of departure. But more importantly, as we odyssey through the text we will consider whether Heidegger's philosophy ventures into novel and contemporarily relevant territory, and whether we disagree in part or wholesale with his conception of art and its connection to truth and history. We will read The Question Concerning Technology* on meeting 4, a work that continues the themes introduced in this work. Some aspects of the text might raise red flags in light of Heidegger's political life. Whether justified or not, these aspects of the text will also require discussion and careful consideration.