Feminist Interpretations of Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger's commitment to the idea that Dasein (human existence) is ultimately gender neutral, as well as several other major aspects of his thought, raises significant questions for feminist philosophers. The fourteen essays included in this volume clearly illustrate the ways in which feminist readings can deepen our understanding of his philosophy. They illuminate both the richness and the limitations of the resources his work can provide for feminist thought.

This volume engages the full scope of Heidegger's writings from Being and Time through his latest work, from his readings of the ancient Greek poets to his critique of modern technology. At the same time, it reflects a wide range of contemporary feminist concerns: the significance of gender difference; the role of the body in philosophical thought; the relationship between philosophy and the natural world, and between philosophy and the domestic realm; and the aspiration to move forward into a new, more just, political world.

Included in this volume are important new (or newly translated) essays by Ellen Armour, Carol Bigwood, Jack Caputo, Tina Chanter, Trish Glazebrook, Jennifer Gosetti, Luce Irigaray, Dorothy Leland, Mechthild Nagel, Gail Stenstad, and the editors—as well as a valuable historical and theoretical Introduction by Patricia Huntington, the first of Jacques Derrida's "Geschlecht" articles, and an important 1997 essay by Iris Marion Young.

“The essays in this collection are all of very high quality and excellent scholarship. They represent the work of some of the most important feminist scholars of Heidegger and other Heidegger scholars more generally. The essays reflect diverse approaches to Heidegger, some critical, some sympathetic. This volume will give students and scholars a good introduction not only to the variety of approaches of feminist theorists but also to different approaches to Heidegger.”—Kelly Oliver, SUNY, Stony Brook

“Clearly a feminist Auseinandersetzung with Heidegger, as is well demonstrated in this volume, proves a stimulant of both thought and the unthought.”—Leslie Paul Thiele, Canadian Journal of Political Science

Nancy J. Holland is Professor of Philosophy at Hamline University.

Patricia J. Huntington is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.

Literary Studies

Philosophy

           Feminist