Martin Heidegger

Heidegger 2 (1960)

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Geburtshaus Heidegger Sonne

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Being and Time (German edition)

Wilhelm Dilthey zZ seiner Verlobung

Martin Heidegger (26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher and a seminal thinker in the Continental philosophy and phenomenology movements. His best-known work is Being and Time (Sein und Zeit), published in 1927. Heidegger's philosophy focuses on the question of Being (Sein), arguing that it has been neglected by traditional metaphysics, which has instead focused on specific entities and their properties. Heidegger seeks to explore the fundamental nature of our being and our relationship with the world, introducing concepts such as Dasein (a term he uses to denote the experience of being that is specific to human beings) and Being-in-the-world.

Life

Martin Heidegger was born in Messkirch, Germany, in 1889. He studied theology at the University of Freiburg before shifting his focus to philosophy. Heidegger completed his doctoral thesis on Duns Scotus under the supervision of Heinrich Rickert. Heidegger's habilitation thesis was on psychologism, a topic that was popular among Neo-Kantian philosophers at the time. In 1927, Heidegger published Being and Time, which significantly influenced the direction of 20th-century philosophy, particularly existentialism, hermeneutics, and deconstruction.

Philosophical Work

Heidegger's work is characterized by its focus on ontology—the study of being. In Being and Time, Heidegger develops the concept of Dasein to analyze the fundamental structures of human existence. He argues that traditional metaphysical inquiries have overlooked the question of being by concentrating on describing the characteristics of specific beings. Heidegger's analysis of Dasein leads to an exploration of themes such as anxiety, death, authenticity, and temporality, which he believes are central to understanding the nature of being.

After the publication of Being and Time, Heidegger's work took a "turn" (Kehre) towards more poetic and meditative reflections on being and language. This phase of his philosophy is evident in works such as The Origin of the Work of Art and Building Dwelling Thinking, where he explores the relationship between being, language, and the world.

Controversies

Heidegger's involvement with the Nazi Party during the early 1930s has been a subject of intense controversy and scrutiny. He was elected rector of the University of Freiburg in 1933 and delivered a number of speeches in support of the Nazi regime. However, his affiliation with the party was short-lived, and he resigned from the rectorship in 1934. The extent and nature of Heidegger's involvement with the Nazis and its influence on his philosophical work remain topics of debate among scholars.

Legacy

Despite the controversies surrounding his political affiliations, Heidegger's philosophical contributions have had a profound impact on contemporary thought. His work has influenced a wide range of fields, including philosophy, literature, psychology, political theory, and theology. Figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and Jacques Derrida have drawn on Heidegger's concepts and methodologies in developing their own philosophical positions.

Selected Works

• Being and Time (1927)
• What Is Metaphysics? (1929)
• The Origin of the Work of Art (1935)
• Building Dwelling Thinking (1951)
• Introduction to Metaphysics (1953)