An interview with Jeffrey Van Davis, the director of the documentary, Only a God Can Save Us (link.) Mr. Van Davis and Professor Hicks discuss the origins of the documentary, some details about its composition, his encounters with the Heidegger family, the premiere of the documentary, and more details on the life of Heidegger.
Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:03 How did you come to make this film? 02:15 What drew you to Heidegger? 03:35 Your career highlights 05:25 Heidegger in the 1920s 06:49 Heidegger’s reputation in the 1920s 08:40 Heidegger as a political thinker 10:40 Heidegger’s influences in 1920s 12:50 Evidence of his awareness of Nazism in 1920s 17:24 Nazism comes to power 21:36 Heidegger’s postwar thought and actions 23:33 His postwar political thoughts 26:37 How closely was his philosophy tied to Nazism 27:32 Philosopher or cultural activist? 28:47 The making of the film 37:30 The release of the film 42:40 Elfride Heidegger—the enthusiastic Nazi 45:15 The features of the film 47:32 The reaction of Heidegger apologists. Stephen R. C. Hicks, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at Rockford University, USA, and has had visiting positions at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., University of Kasimir the Great in Poland, Oxford University’s Harris Manchester College in England, and Jagiellonian University in Poland.
Related: Heidegger, in the *Philosophers, Explained* series: