Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a prolific German philosopher best known for his book, Being and Time (1927), which laid the basis of modern existentialism, challenged traditional metaphysics, and provided deep psychological insight into what it means to be human. He is controversial mainly because of his collaboration with the Nazis, but his political views, whatever they may have been, seem disconnected from his thought. In later life, he assumed a quietistic, almost Taoist-like, focus on pure being.

Eric v.d. Luft earned his B.A. magna cum laude in philosophy and religion at Bowdoin College in 1974, his Ph.D. in philosophy at Bryn Mawr College in 1985, and his M.L.S. at Syracuse University in 1993. From 1987 to 2006 he was the Curator of Historical Collections at SUNY Upstate Medical University. He has taught at Villanova University, Syracuse University, Upstate, and the College of Saint Rose. He owns Gegensatz Press, is listed in Who’s Who in America, and is the author, editor, or translator of over 675 publications in philosophy, religion, librarianship, history, history of medicine, politics, humor, popular culture, and nineteenth-century studies.