Went to Theatre J with Taren and Rain last night, where we watched Hannah and Martin, a play about the philosopher Martin Heidegger and his student/paramour, Hannah Arendt. The play raised several moral conundrums, the primary of which was what limits (if any) that should be imposed on the marketplace of ideas.
For instance, as Heidegger began to sympathize with the Nazis, he dismissed the ideas of the Communists (and to some extent, the Jews) out of hand because of their background or politics. Arendt, the protagonist in the play, and her husband vehemently argued that all ideas should put in the open for discussion. But, the play goes on to ask, what about ideas that brainwash and ideas that lead to Holocaust? And while it’s clear that those dangerous ideas should be rejected (if not censored), what about Heidegger’s work after the war? Should he be barred from teaching? Should his books not be published? And how much did his politics have to do with his philosophy? Interesting questions and ones I don’t have complete answers for.
On a lighter note, LOTD: Store Wars (really funny)