PHILIPPE LACOUE-LABARTHE'S INTERPRETATION OF WALTER BENJAMIN IN HEIDEGGER AND THE POLITICS OF POETRY

Walter Benjamin is a persistent but elusive presence in many of Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe's writings, and the relationship between Lacoue-Labarthe and Benjamin is accordingly both significant and difficult to grasp. In Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry (2002), Lacoue-Labarthe more explicitly and directly engages with Benjamin than anywhere else. Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry continues the project of Heidegger, Art and Politics (1987). That is, it continues Lacoue-Labarthe's attempt to come to terms with Heidegger's political engagement with German National Socialism. Accordingly, this article starts by outlining Lacoue-Labarthe's approach to Heidegger's politics in Heidegger, Art and Politics. It then considers how Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry continues Lacoue-Labarthe's criticism of Heidegger and what roles Benjamin plays in this. The third section takes a closer look at Lacoue-Labarthe's interpretation of Benjamin in Heidegger and the Politics of Poetry and argues that Lacoue-Labarthe's Benjamin is exceedingly Heideggerian. This is intriguing since Lacoue-Labarthe often opposes Benjamin to Heidegger in order to distance himself from the latter. The conclusion argues that Benjamin nevertheless allows Lacoue-Labarthe to articulate his own position vis-a-vis Heidegger.