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''Introduction to Metaphysics'' () is a revised and edited 1935 lecture course by
Martin Heidegger Martin Heidegger (; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to Phenomenology (philosophy), phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art ...
first published in 1953. The work is notable for a discussion of the Presocratics and for illustrating Heidegger's supposed ''" Kehre,"'' or turn in thought beginning in the 1930s—as well as for its mention of the "inner greatness" of Nazism. Heidegger suggested the work relates to the unwritten "second half" of his 1927 magnum opus ''
Being and Time ''Being and Time'' () is the 1927 ''magnum opus'' of German philosopher Martin Heidegger and a key document of existentialism. ''Being and Time'' had a notable impact on subsequent philosophy, literary theory and many other fields. Though controv ...
''.


Background and publication history

''Introduction to Metaphysics,'' originally a summer lecture course at the
University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially ), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The university was founded in 1 ...
in 1935, was first published eighteen years later by the Max Niemeyer Verlag (Halle, Germany), simultaneously with the Seventh German Edition of ''Being and Time.'' In a one-page preface accompanying this post-war edition of ''Being and Time,'' Heidegger wrote that the newly available ''Introduction to Metaphysics'', would "elucidate" material contemplated for the once-promised but long-abandoned "second half" of ''Being and Time''. The preface also noted that the text of this latest (1953) B&T edition had eliminated several references to itself as a "first half." Among English translations, the second edition (2014) of a version by Gregory Fried and Richard Polt from Yale Press (New Haven) was in print as of 2020. Ralph Manheim produced a 1959 translation praised by Fried and Polt in their introduction to the second edition as largely responsible for introducing Heidegger to the English-speaking world. But Manheim worked prior to the 1962 Macquarrie version of ''Being and Time''—which established several conventions for Heidegger's English translators. The work is included in Volume 40 (1983) of Heidegger's ''Gesamtausgabe'' (collected works) edited by Petra Jaeger.


Presocratic Revivalism

''Introduction to Metaphysics'' "was not about early Greek thought, and yet the Presocratics are at the pivotal center of discussion," writes
Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz (born 24 October 1953) is a Polish philosopher and political theorist. Biography W. J. Korab-Karpowicz was born in Gliwice, Poland in 1953. He comes from a noble Polish family. Korab, included in his family ...
. In this view, "the thinking of
Heraclitus Heraclitus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, ...
and
Parmenides Parmenides of Elea (; ; fl. late sixth or early fifth century BC) was a Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic ancient Greece, Greek philosopher from Velia, Elea in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy). Parmenides was born in the Greek colony of Veli ...
, which lies at the origin of philosophy, was falsified and misinterpreted" by Plato and Aristotle, thus tainting all of subsequent Western philosophy. Heidegger aimed to correct this misunderstanding (
Charles Guignon Charles Burke Guignon (February 1, 1944 – May 23, 2020) was an American philosopher and professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of South Florida. He is known for his expertise on Martin Heidegger's philosophy and existentialism. He be ...
2014) by reviving Presocratic notions of 'being' with an emphasis on "understanding the way beings show up in (and as) an unfolding ''happening or event''." Guignon adds that "we might call this alternative outlook 'event ontology.'" (The concept of ''Ereignis'', or "event," is more fully developed in Contributions to Philosophy 1938.) Heidegger used his discussion of Heraclitus' and Parmenides' respective notions of ''
logos ''Logos'' (, ; ) is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology and rhetoric, as well as religion (notably Logos (Christianity), Christianity); among its connotations is that of a rationality, rational form of discourse that relies on inducti ...
'' in his argument that to avoid
nihilism Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that Existential nihilism, life is meaningless, that Moral nihilism, moral values are baseless, and ...
, modern philosophy must "reinvert" the traditional, post-Socratic conception of the relationship between being and thinking, according to Daniel Dahlstrom.


Being and the ''Kehre''

In a significant contrast with ''Being and Time'' eight years earlier, Heidegger's ''Introduction to Metaphysics'' "no longer places the inquiry into the Being of Dasein at the center of his work," Instead, the author "looks to language as the site of a meaning of Being" (Brian Bard, 1993 essay, "Heidegger's Reading of Heraclitus"). The work "clearly shows the shift" in Heidegger's thought, Bard writes. This contrast is typically seen as the first instance of Heidegger's much-discussed '' Kehre,'' or turn in thinking, that became evident from the 1930s onward, according to Thomas Sheehan. But the supposed turn is "far less dramatic than usually suggested," according to Sheehan, and merely entailed a shift in focus and method. Separately,
Mark Wrathall Mark Wrathall (born February 1, 1965) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford and a fellow and tutor at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He is considered a leading interpreter of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Wrathall is feat ...
argued (2011) that the ''Kehre'' itself is a complete misconception on the part of interpreters, while pointing to Heidegger's supposed consistency of purpose throughout his career.Wrathall, Mark: Heidegger and Unconcealment: Truth, Language, and History, Cambridge University Press, 2011. (Both Sheehan and Wrathall, separately, assert that Heidegger's central focus was never on "Being" as such. Wrathall wrote that Heidegger's elaborate concept of "unconcealment" was his central, life-long focus, while Sheehan proposed that the philosopher's prime focus was on that which "brings about being as a givenness of entities.")


Politics

Gregory Fried and Richard Polt praised the work for "the range and depth of its thought as well as for its intricate and nuanced style", arguing that it deserved its status as the successor to ''Being and Time''. Regarding its mention of National Socialism, they write that, “Interpreters differ widely, and often acrimoniously, on whether Heidegger’s Nazism was due to a personal character defect” or whether the philosophy itself reflects a fascist outlook. Heidegger refers in the published text to the "inner truth and greatness of the movement," but adds a qualifying statement in parentheses: "(namely, the confrontation of planetary technology and modern humanity)." The qualification wasn't in the original lecture, although Heidegger falsely claimed otherwise. Moreover, the controversial page of the 1935 manuscript is missing from the Heidegger Archives in Marbach. Heidegger defended the "inner greatness" comment in a 1966 interview with
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
(posthumously published 1976), claiming it was intended to mislead Nazi informants who observed his lectures. Heidegger asserted that dedicated students would understand that the comment wasn't a celebration of Nazism. Jurgen Habermas, in a 1953 review of the published work in the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...
noted the issue and wrote that "it's time to think with Heidegger against Heidegger." Theodore Kisiel "Heidegger's Philosophical Geopolitics" "Companion to IM", page 239. Although Julian Young claims (1998) that the book is "widely considered fascist in character," this characterization is false according to Young, who writes that the work implicitly condemns Nazism for its racism, militarism and attempted destruction of civil society. The work has also been seen as being critical of Nazism for being insufficiently radical and suffering from the same spiritual impoverishment as the Soviet Union and the United States.


References


Bibliography

Books * * * * * Journals * Online articles *


Further reading

* {{Martin Heidegger 1935 speeches 1953 non-fiction books Books about hermeneutics Books by Martin Heidegger German non-fiction books Metaphysics books Philosophy lectures University of Freiburg