Geschichte am Scheideweg. Heidegger und der Surrealismus bei Benjamin

Abstract

Abstract. The following paper is grounded on a reflection found in Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project, opposing Martin Heidegger’s conception of historicity to the one put forth in the writings of the surrealists. By interpreting Benjamin’s own view of the surrealists’ approach to history and its core motifs, on the one hand, and his interpretation of Heidegger as sketched out in several other brief passages, on the other hand, we wish to show that Benjamin did not share the facile view on Heidegger’s conception of history held by Adorno, Habermas or Marcuse, but instead his critique proves a very nuanced reading of Heidegger, allowing us to outline the fundamental opposition between an existential and a political approach to the philosophy of history.