Nazism and Neglect
It is possible that regard for Becker's earlier work suffered from his later Nazi allegiances, leading to lack of reference or published commentary by émigré logicians and mathematicians who had fled Hitlerism. His lecture on "The Vacuity of Art and the Daring of the Artist," presents a "Nordic Metaphysics" in fairly standard Nazi style.
Two able philosophers who were students of Becker, Juergen Habermas and Hans Sluga, later grappled with the issue of the influence of Nazism on German academia. The application of Heidegger's ideas to theoretical science (let alone mathematics) has only recently become widespread, particularly in the English-speaking world. Furthermore Becker's polemical replies probably alienated his critics still further.
Read more about this topic: Oskar Becker
Famous quotes containing the word neglect:
“Vanity is as advantageous to a government as pride is dangerous. To be convinced of this we need only represent, on the one hand, the numberless benefits which result from vanity, as industry, the arts, fashions, politeness, and taste; and on the other, the infinite evils which spring from the pride of certain nations, a laziness, poverty, a total neglect of everything.”
—Charles Louis de Secondat Montesquieu (1689–1755)