Martin Heidegger’s philosophical critique of modernity encompassed both a questioning of modern liberal democracy and a challenge to prevailing views of speech and language. Heidegger saw modern democracies as subject to alienating forms of technocratic rule and to inauthentic forms of social existence.

In this talk Associate Professor Robert Sinnerbrink examines Heidegger’s critique of modernity and the role of speech in democratic societies, contrasting this with the philosophical ‘corrective’ provided by his student Hannah Arendt.

Arendt agreed that modern liberal democracies face the twin threats of technocratic rule and an alienating erosion of genuine politics, but argued strongly that we need to promote the power of public speech and free action as essential to avoiding totalitarianism and saving modern democracy.

Watch Associate Professor Robert Sinnerbrink on the streaming channel of the Blackheath Philosophy Forum.