Gnosis, Sustainable Development and Racism Re-Appraising Hans Jonas As a Political Thinker (Report‪)‬

(Hans Jonas, Das Prinzip Verantwortung. Versuch einer Ethik fur die technologische Zivilisation, 1979, Engl. Trans., p. 140; hereafter DPV) Whether wisdom can be taught is a thorny issue that has been discussed in philosophy since Plato's time. What rests assured, however, is that wisdom can be defective or absent in the soul of the ignorant person as well as in the soul of the knowledgeable one. Scholarship and professional competence, in other words, do not translate mechanically into wise conduct. Thus, it was possible for the highly learned Martin Heidegger, leading philosophical mind of the fragile Weimarrepublik , to side with the most brutal regime that Europe had the misfortune to witness during the 20th century. Certainly, Heidegger's unthinkable political allegiance allowed him to gain even more power within the German academic world, at least for the duration of Hitler's ruthless rule, but also to betray the quasi-filial trust of his pupils, especially left-wing and Jewish ones.