HEIDEGGER’S CZECH-BRAZILIAN CHILD: VILÉM FLUSSER: Vilém Flusser

In a letter from June 1, 1964, to Vilém Flusser, the poet from Curitiba Paulo Leminski poses the following question: “Master Vilém: Which philosopher do you feel closest to (Heidegger)?” In his reply, dated September 20, Vilém Flusser confesses: “Dear friend... Heidegger is undoubtedly (along with Husserl and Dilthey) the one I would most like to surpass, and is, in this case, the most important.” This work aims to show, through an analysis of some aspects of Flusserian thought, how (or if) the Czech-Brazilian thinker attempts the ambitious task. My title, though clearly a play of words with Wolin’s expression, is not meant as a joke. I believe some of the main criteria Wolin used to identify his ‘four thinker’s as children of Heidegger also apply to Flusser. Since one of Flusser’s philosophical drives was to surpass Heidegger, it seems appropriate to approach the question from this particular perspective. Exactly, I am interested in seeing Flusser’s relationship with Heidegger, to the extent that this will allow us to understand how (if) Flusser manages to surpass Heidegger.