Andrew
J. Mitchell (2016). Heidegger’s
Breakdown: Health and Healing Under the Care of Dr. Viktor Emil von Gebsattel.
Research in Phenomenology, 46(1):71-97.
In 1946 Heidegger suffered a mental
breakdown and received treatment by Dr. Viktor Emil Freiherr von Gebsattel. I
explore the themes of health and help in Heidegger's work before and after his
treatment. I begin with Heidegger's views on health while Rector in 1933-34 (1)
and his abandonment of these views by war's end (2). A short while later,
Heidegger's breakdown occurs and the treatment under Gebsattel begins (3). Soon
after his treatment, Heidegger lauds what he terms a "broken-down"
thinking, and I examine his contribution to a 1958 Festschrift for Gebsattel to
better articulate such a thinking (4). Lastly, I take up Heidegger's remarks on
the role of the medical profession in a technological age from a 1962 speech
(5). In presenting this material, I hope to shed new light on a little known
aspect of Heidegger's career and biography and to situate philosophically his
relationship with Dr. Gebsattel.
see also
