Author Rosenbaum plainly does not have the philosophical interest or sophistication to undertake this discussion. Any one of us can make whatever moral judgments they wish about the moral and political conduct of a public figure, and on whatever grounds they elect. But Heidegger and Arendt both produced immensely intricate and influential ideas. This kind of ham-fisted pillory approach leaves those ideas unrecognized and untouched.

Please, Slate; next time, hire someone who knows what they're talking about.

MW Morse

That was my impression too.

M. Henderson

I don't get any sense, at all, that Rosenbaum is fluent in Arendt or Heidegger's ideas . . and that he doesn't have even a minimal grasp of the great influence of their work. He seems to have swallowed, wholesale, some accusations about Arendt and/or Heidegger in these books that condemn them but he doesn't seem to have enough understanding to evaluate the condemnations. . . in fact, he doesn't seem, um, smart enough to get Arendt, Heidegger or their critics.