Nitzan Lebovic, The Philosophy of Life and Death: Ludwig Klages and the Rise of a Nazi Biopolitics (Palgrave, 2013)
Thomas Mann referred to Ludwig Klages (1872-1956) as a \u201ccriminal philosopher,\u201d a \u201cPan-Germanist,\u201d \u201can irrationalist,\u201d a \u201cTarzan philosopher,\u201d \u201ca cultural pessimist\u2026 the voice of the world\u2019s downfall.\u201d Yet, Walter Benjamin urged his friend Gershom Scholem to read Klage\u2019s latest book in 1930, at a time when Klages was increasingly bending his anti-Semitic philosophy of life (Lebensphilosophie) in a political direction. It was, Benjamin wrote, \u201cwithout a doubt, a great philosophical work, regardless of the context in which the author may be and remain suspect.\u201d\n\nNitzan Lebovic, historian at Lehigh University, has set himself the task of unfolding the ways in which Klages\u2019s philosophy became both an inspiration for Nazi cultural politics and a subterranean source in the history of critical philosophy from Benjamin to Giorgio Agamben. In this podcast, we discuss his book\xa0The Philosophy of Life and Death: Ludwig Klages and the Rise of a Nazi Biopolitics (Palgrave Studies in Cultural and Intellectual History, 2013).\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies