There are numerous books which seek to interpret Martin Heidegger’s seminal text, Beiträge zur Philosophie (Vom Ereignis), and others which address the question of how to translate his writings. By joining these two tasks, Translation and Interpretation: Learning from Beiträge, stands out from other such books in the field of Heidegger studies. The volume begins with Parvis Emad’s translation of an original essay by Martin Heidegger, “Contributions of Philosophy. The Da-sein and the Be-ing (Enowning).” -/- Through six carefully crafted essays, (...) Emad then takes the reader through a journey which examines the relationship between Heidegger’s being-historical thinking and such key figures—including Friedrich Nietzsche, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Friedrich Hölderlin—who either occupy the forefront at the end of metaphysics or mark the “crossing” to the “other beginning.” -/- This book will be of special interest to scholars and graduate students alike, whether in philosophy or such diverse fields as poetry and linguistics. (shrink)
This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Heidegger's Philosophy examines the development of Martin Heidegger's thought in all its nuances and facets.
This paper develops the question of Heidegger’s stance toward evolutionary theory. It shows that evolutionary theory harbors its own set of presuppositions,which in turn can be explicated through Heidegger’s hermeneutic strategy of “formal indication.” The paper concludes that Heidegger’s account of animal lifediverges from that of evolutionary theory, not simply due to the naturalistic claims of the latter, but rather because the former places the openness of inquiry aheadof any theoretical concerns. As a result, Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenology stakes out a (...) unique territory which stands apart from either a traditionally religious or secular viewpoint, each of which risks falling into the trap of dogmatism. (shrink)
This paper argues that Theodore Kisiel, in his article published in Studia Phænomenologica, vol. 5 (2005), pp. 277-285, completely overlooks the “hermeneutic principles” involved in translating philosophical texts when he arbitrarily denounces Parvis Emad’s and Kenneth Maly’s translation of Beiträge zur Philosophie (Vom Ereignis). By locating the distinctive place that translation occupies, this paper argues that the kind of “neologisms” which Emad and Maly employ are not only acceptable, but necessary, insofar as the translation of such an extraordinary work as (...) the Beiträge tests the limits of language where the word emerges from silence. (shrink)
By tracing the discourse employed by Critical philosophy back to a pre-predicative level of language, this paper adds a dimension to Heidegger’s retrieval of Kant. By making explicit the role that language plays in the first Critique—both in the development of the transcendental schema of knowledge in the Transendental Analytic and the determination of the boundaries of pure reason in the Transcendental Dialectic—a bridge is formed between Heidegger’s hermeneutics and Kant’s critical enterprise. Heidegger’s destructive-retrieval of Kant’s thought is then seen (...) to hinge as much on exploring the issue of language, as it is on the issue of temporality. (shrink)
I address the ethical treatment of animals from a Heideggerian perspective. My argument proceeds in two stages. First, it is necessary to develop a nonanthropocentric concept of freedom which extends beyond the sphere of human interests. Second, it is essential to show that our capacity to speak must serve the diverse ends of “dwelling,” and hence can be properly exercised only by balancing the interests of animals with those of our own. Rather than point to naturalistic similarities between humans and (...) animals (e.g., the capacity to feel pain), or even ontological ones (e.g., the shared dimension of “care” [Sorge]), the better strategy lies in expanding the scope of moral agency in a way which allows the differences between humans and animals to suggest guidelines as to why the former should exhibit benevolence toward the latter. In this way, I show that the basic percepts of Heidegger’s philosophy support an ethic which can attend to, and speak in behalf of, the welfare of animals. (shrink)
This paper develops a new interpretation of Heidegger's concept of conscience in order to show to what extent his thought establishes the possibility of civil disobedience. The origin of conscience lies in the self's appropriation of language as inviting a reciprocal response of the other (person). By developing the social dimension of dialogue, it is showsn that conscience reveals the self in its capacity for dissent, free speech, and civil disobedience. By developing the social roots of conscience, a completely new (...) light is cast on the political implications of Heidegger's thought. (shrink)
This paper considers the implications that Heidegger’s analysis of imagination has for radicalizing his hermeneutical inquiry into being. While initially appearing as a “psychological concept,” the development of imagination is nevertheless crucial for rooting human existence in the finite dimensions of temporality. Imagination has Kantian overtones as performing the vital role of synthesizing a pregiven manifold for knowledge. Yet Heidegger construes imagination in its dual role both as unifying the dimensions of time and as providing new configurations of meaning in (...) the fonnulation of ontological concepts. The transition from imagination as “synthesizer” to “innovator” forms the heart of Heidegger’s attempt to address being according to its diverse manifestations, that is, as entailing more original ways to articulate its “meaning(s).” Thus, imagination re-emerges as a power which expands the parameters of interpretation, and establishes new possibilities in the attempt to express the meaning of being in conceptual terms. The paper underscores the contemporary relevance of imagination as re-shaping the topography or landscape of ontological investigation. (shrink)
The work of Schelling is not without problems, most notably his pantheism; nonetheless, because his philosophical presuppositions differ from those of Critical Philosophy, his work after 1800 (especially "Of Human Freedom" and "Stuttgart Seminars") provides an oddly "postmodern" alternative to subject-centered rationalism and the disenchanted secular culture it brought to birth. By counterpointing Schelling against Kant and by displaying the internal logic of Schelling's distinctive philosophy of identity, the author explores Schelling's conception of eternal life and analyzes its relevance for (...) ethics. (shrink)
Schelling’s philosophy has been construed either as endorsing a Christian view of revelation or as setting the stage for an existentialist account of human freedom. There has been a tendency to ignore the interface of Schelling’s task, namely, as exploring the presuppositions that govern an attempt to rethink the affinity between the Divine and the human will. This paper aims to rectify the above deficiency; it shows how Schelling offers a more radical account of human freedom than can be found (...) in either a conventional Christian or in a secular account of the frailty of the human situation. The key to this interpretation lies in showing that Schelling developed a dialectic of human freedom which establishes how the self-devisiveness of evil can arise as a corollary to the harmony of love. Through his dialectic, Schelling cultivates the insights of German idealism in a manner which clarifies rather than undermines the basic motifs of Christianity. (shrink)
This paper highlights Max Scheler’s contribution to developing a ‘phenomenological’ account of religious transcendence in a way which remains unique among other proponents of that tradition of continental thought. It is argued that even in formulating his own concept of ‘world-openness’ (as precursory to Hussurl’s and Heidegger’s view of the self’s ‘worldliness’) Scheler continues to foster a vision of the human person’s eternality and kinship with the Divine.
