Beginning with Heidegger

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.