The debate on Heidegger's turning toward National Socialism that began in the 1940s returned in force with the publication of Victor Farias's Heidegger et le nazisme in 1987. The original debate has spread throughout Europe and across the Atlantic Ocean, and a number of books have appeared in response to the debate and to Farias's study itself.

Janicaud draws a firm connection between Heidegger's philosophical position and his political engagement. He thus goes beyond those writers who attempt to handle the issue of Heidegger's Nazism simply on the level of his personal political judgment, in isolation from his philosophy, by attempting to distinguish rigorously between Heidegger the thinker and Heidegger the man.

Janicaud's calm rejection of this approach, his refusal to salvage the philosopher from the wreck of the man, is a truly original contribution to this complex and emotional debate.