Between Spengler and Heidegger: philosophical pedagogy and historical-political processes between the two world wars

In 1931/32 Martin Heidegger held a course on the essence of truth, starting from an exposition of Plato's myth of the cave and an interpretation of the Theaetetus. What seems like a normal comparison with the origins of the history of philosophy takes place in a particularly controversial historical and political context: we are at the twilight of the Weimar Republic and the dawn of the seizure of power by Nazism. After having immersed himself in the climate of the ideology of the German war and the subsequent conservative revolution, Heidegger - who in the meantime had become close to the National Socialist Party - actually proposed in his lessons a powerful but disturbing interpretation of Western history but also of politics and revolution, focusing in particular on the role of the intellectual avant-gardes and entrusting them with a pedagogical role that is however declined in the sense of a total destruction of any philosophical universalism.

The antecedent of this purpose is the philosophical and political work carried out by Oswald Spengler in the years between the publication of The Decline of the West and the rise of Nazism. There is a political alternative to the decline, for Spengler, even in the context of social dissolution and decline; and it is more likely and also more appropriate for Europe that this alternative falls on the Germans, with their spirit of service and their organizational skills, than on the individualistic and utilitarian Anglo-Americans, not to mention the Russians. This is the ultimate meaning of the theory of Caesarism and of Spengler's pedagogical and organizational commitment to foster the emergence of a Caesarist figure in Germany: the coming German Caesar is the political leadership needed to face the political and economic challenges posed by Zivilisation, so that Germany can assert itself among the nations and achieve global hegemony before the life cycle of Faustian civilization comes to its end. The advent of this Caesarist leader, Lewis insists, is what Spengler will try to promote with his intellectual and political activity, from Prussianism and Socialism through The Regeneration of the Reich to the return to studies after 1924 and again in the early 1930s

The course therefore proposes the following specific educational objectives:

- to introduce the main authors and fundamental concepts of the history of contemporary philosophy, with particular attention to the political and social implications of these concepts (universal/particular; social classes; modern/antimodern/postmodern; right/left, recognition/discrimination; democracy/authoritarianism, etc. etc.) and their implications in the educational field;

- to extract from these authors and these concepts the philosophical skills most suitable to support the work of pedagogical planning;

- help them to orient themselves in the political-cultural context in which the educational processes of the contemporary world take place starting from the theoretical elements learned and their application to today's communicative contexts (TV, newspapers, social networks).

The course is composed of three modules, which will be carried out in an intertwined manner.

1. General part

1.1. Schopenhauer, Restoration; 1.2. Hegel, Hegelianism; 1.3. Comte, Spencer; 1.4. Nietzsche; 1.5. Neo-Kantianism and historicism; 1.6. Croce, Gentile, Gramsci; 1.7. Husserl, Freud; 1.8. Conservative revolution; 1.9. Lukacs, Horkheimer, Adorno; 1.10. Sartre.

2. History of contemporary philosophy and philosophical skills

2.1. Abstract and concrete; 2.2. Philosophy as a question about meaning; 2.3. Philosophy as critical thinking; 2.4. Philosophy as understanding totality; 2.5. Philosophy as conflict management; 2.6. Philosophy and educational processes; 2.7. From Greek Paideia to the Formation of Neoliberal Man; 2.8. Gramsci and Gentile: From the Culture of Elites to Culture as Revolution and Modern Democracy.

3. Spengler, Heidegger and Conservative Pedagogy Against Democracy

3.1. Heidegger and His Time; The Second Thirty Years' War and Its Presuppositions. 2. The Ideology of War; The Postwar Material and Cultural Crisis. 3. The Conservative Revolution. 4. Martin Heidegger. 5. The Lectures on Plato; Essence of Truth and Being: Historical-Political Power and Impotence of Knowledge. 6. The Metaphysical Direction of Western History; Modern Universalism as the "Eradication" of the Historical-Political Power of the West. 7. Return to the Essence of Knowledge, Metamorphosis of Truth and Historical "Revolution"; Destruction of the Modern Subject, Rooting and Denial of Human Genericity. 8. Intellectual avant-gardes of the revolution and anthropological transformation. 9. Spengler and the crisis of the Belle Epoque. 10. In the laboratory of the Decline: the letters to Hans Kloeres. 11. Spengler's pedagogical-political work between the two world wars.

None.

In relation to the discipline and its specificities, the student must demonstrate:

Knowledge and understanding:
- Adequate and conscious knowledge of the fundamental themes of contemporary philosophy presented in class and explored in the textbooks and understanding of its fundamental concepts (see the Educational Objectives), both for the authors and currents of the general part and for the monographic topics (Spengler, Heidegger);
- Adequate and conscious knowledge of the historical and socio-political dynamics of the contemporary age presented in class and explored in the textbooks and understanding of the processes that have innervated them;
- In-depth understanding of the pedagogical implications of the philosophical reflection of the authors discussed in class.

Applied knowledge and understanding:
- Ability to orient oneself and to orient high school students in the twentieth-century philosophical and political debate, as well as to understand how much of today's philosophy and pedagogy genealogically depends on the hermeneutic choices developed in the period between the two world wars.

Autonomy of judgment (making judgments):
- Ability to take a stand independently with respect to the main philosophical-political nodes of contemporary debate and conflicts (progress/reaction, universalism/particularism, emancipation/de-emancipation...).

Communication skills:
Ability to explain, independently rework and make understood what has been learned through the general part (authors and currents) and the monographic part (Spengler and Heidegger) in forms appropriate to a second level university level study and to argue in forms appropriate to teaching in high school; ability to explain in an original way the fundamental questions, aspects and principles of contemporary philosophy, in particular in relation to its political implications (progress/reaction nexus, universal/particular, freedom/equality and recognition/exclusion couple).

Learning ability
- On the basis of the knowledge acquired through the course, the student must be able to independently build research and in-depth paths and to understand which readings can help him in his autonomous growth and in his professional capacity for pedagogical planning.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Support seminar by Dr. Emiliano Alessandroni (10 hours).
A formative (self)assessment test will be held online in the second half of the semester, useful for students to become aware of the level of understanding of the programs covered and evaluate the level of their preparation and the effectiveness of the study method of the subject in relation to the exam.

Teaching

Lectures and seminar.

Innovative teaching methods

Debate.

Attendance

None.

Course books

Giuseppe Cambiano - Massimo Mori: Storia della filosofia contemporanea, Laterza, Roma/Bari 2014. Le parti da studiare sono le seguenti, per complessive 200 pagine circa:
Schopenhauer 11-18; Restaurazione 28-43; Hegelismo 62-97; Comte 101-104; Spencer 123-126; Nietzsche 133-155; Neokantismo e storicismo 182-212; Croce Gentile Gramsci 239-275; Husserl 276-287; Freud 332-342; Rivoluzione conservatrice 350-356; Lukacs 360-365; Horkheimer e Adorno 373-375; Sartre 393-401.

- Stefano G. Azzarà: Essenza del sapere , metamorfosi della verità e distruzione del concetto universale di uomo nelle lezioni platoniche di Heidegger del 1931/32, in Id., Pensare la rivoluzione conservatrice, La città del Sole, Napoli 2000, pp. 337-392: 55 pp. da studiare. Questo testo, non più disponibile in commercio, verrà messo a disposizione in pdf dal docente sulla piattaforma Blended.

- Martin Heidegger: L'essenza della verità. Sul mito della caverna e sul «Teeteto» di Platone, Adelphi, Milano 1997. Di questo libro andranno lette alcune parti che verranno indicate a lezione e delle quali il docente fornirà i brani su piattaforma Blended.

- Stefano G. Azzarà, Dominare la Zivilisation. Il laboratorio del Tramonto nelle lettere di Oswald Spengler a Hans Klöres, in O. Spengler, Lettere a Hans Klöres, La scuola di Pitagora, Napoli 2024 (55 pagine).

Assessment

Oral interview. The evaluation criteria for the oral exam are: the level of mastery of knowledge, the degree of articulation of the answer, the level of mastery in the knowledge and application of the different research methodologies. Each of the criteria is evaluated on the basis of a four-level scale of values/judgments. Particular weight is assigned to the first two criteria. The grade for the written exam is expressed in thirtieths.

Students who have registered the disability certification or the DSA certification at the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can ask to use the concept maps (by key words) during the exam. To this end, it is necessary to send the maps two weeks before the exam session to the course teacher, who will verify their consistency with the indications of the University guidelines and may ask for their modification.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Non-attending students will have to follow the same program as attending students, using in particular the materials available on the Moodle platform and coordinating with the teacher and his assistants.

Attendance

None.

Course books

As for attending students. As for attending students. To allow non-attending students to compensate for what is done during lessons with independent study, we also recommend using all the materials that will be included in the blended platform (slides, exercises, supplementary material), which are particularly useful for full understanding of the program contents.

Giuseppe Cambiano - Massimo Mori: History of Contemporary Philosophy, Laterza, Rome/Bari 2014. The parts to be studied are the following, for a total of approximately 200 pages: Schopenhauer 11-18; Restoration 28-43; Hegelianism 62-97; Comte 101-104; Spencer 123-126; Nietzsche 133-155; Neo-Kantianism and Historicism 182-212; Croce Gentile Gramsci 239-275; Husserl 276-287; Freud 332-342; Conservative Revolution 350-356; Lukacs 360-365; Horkheimer and Adorno 373-375; Sartre 393-401.

- Stefano G. Azzarà: Essence of knowledge, metamorphosis of truth and destruction of the universal concept of man in Heidegger's Platonic lessons of 1931/32, in Id., Pensare la Rivoluzione Conservatrice, La città del Sole, Napoli 2000, pp. 337-392: 55 pp. to study. This text, no longer available on the market, will be made available in pdf by the teacher on the Blended platform.

- Martin Heidegger: The essence of truth. On the myth of the cave and Plato's "Teaetetus", Adelphi, Milan 1997. Some parts of this book will be read, which will be indicated in class and of which the teacher will provide the passages on the Blended platform.

- Stefano G. Azzarà, Dominare la Zivilisation. The Sunset Laboratory in Oswald Spengler's Letters to Hans Klöres, in O. Spengler, Letters to Hans Klöres, La scuola di Pitagora, Naples 2024 (55 pages).

Assessment

As for attending students.

Oral interview. The evaluation criteria for the oral exam are: the level of mastery of knowledge, the degree of articulation of the answer, the level of mastery in the knowledge and application of the different research methodologies. Each of the criteria is evaluated on the basis of a four-level scale of values/judgments. Particular weight is assigned to the first two criteria. The grade for the written exam is expressed in thirtieths.

For non-attending students, the exam will refer exclusively to the texts in the program and not to the lessons. Obtaining the lesson notes is however useful for understanding the program.

Students who have registered the disability certification or the DSA certification at the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can ask to use concept maps (by key words) during the exam. To this end, it is necessary to send the maps two weeks before the exam session to the course teacher, who will verify their consistency with the indications of the University guidelines and may request their modification. For non-attending students, however, the test will refer to the texts indicated in the teaching program.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Attending lessons and studying notes does not exempt students from studying the texts, whose reading and understanding will be carefully verified during the exam.