"Letter on Humanism" () refers to a famous letter written 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 ...
in December 1946 in response to a series of questions by
Jean Beaufret (10 November 1946) about the development of
French existentialism. Heidegger reworked the letter for publication in 1947. He distanced himself from
Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...
's position and
existentialism
Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...
in general in this letter.
Content
Heidegger responds to Sartre's famous address, ''
Existentialism is a Humanism,'' employing modes of being in an attempt to ground his concept of freedom
ontologically by distinguishing between
being-in-itself and
being-for-itself. Sartre's existentialism is criticized in the letter:
Existentialism says existence precedes essence
The proposition that existence precedes essence () is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and immutable than its existence (the mere f ...
. In this statement he is taking ''existentia'' and '' essentia'' according to their metaphysical meaning, which, from Plato's time on, has said that ''essentia'' precedes ''existentia''. Sartre reverses this statement. But the reversal of a metaphysical statement remains a metaphysical statement. With it, he stays with metaphysics, in oblivion of the truth of Being.
See also
*
Antihumanism
*
Existential humanism
References
External links
English text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter on Humanism
Works by Martin Heidegger
1947 documents
1947 in philosophy
Existential humanism
Works about existentialism
Works about nihilism
Works about Jean-Paul Sartre