ABSTRACT
Heidegger’s differences with the neo-Kantians in Germany, as expressed in his debate with Ernst Cassirer at Davos in 1929 and then in his Kantbuch, sought to clarify the need for a more fundamental approach that had its implication for moral philosophy as well. Reviewing historical accounts of the rise of National Socialism such as that of Raul Hilberg (The Destruction of the European Jews) helps to situate Heidegger’s own observations and reflections. Clearly, Heidegger’s position was consonant with other German thought of the time (e.g., Max Scheler) as post-Weimar Germany found itself struggling to find its way politically between American liberal capitalist democracy and Soviet Bolshevik communism. The whole of this overview allows one to posit that Heidegger (a) was aware of the problematic of ethics in its normative sense even though he did not write an ethics as such, but (b) was attentive to a more “originary” confrontation (Auseinandersetzung) with the Western philosophical tradition in view of an impending post-metaphysical “decision” (Entscheidung) essential to moral discourse as well.
