One way of understanding a philosopher’s thought is going back to the time that he had lived through. Heidegger’s life offers a new way of seeing things. His life proves that even though man has certain given-ness, the world still provides a free stance where thinking and philosophizing prospers.
Being as the Main Concern of Heidegger and the Mood of the Time
One always thinks within the range of his own situated-ness. This suggests that he stands in a certain point where he can see things according to the stance where he is in.
Being as the Main Concern of Heidegger and the Mood of the Time
One always thinks within the range of his own situated-ness. This suggests that he stands in a certain point where he can see things according to the stance where he is in.
Heidegger was considered an existentialist, eventhough he refuses to be called such. The thing, which he passionately sought for in his entire life, was Being, a metaphysical problem. Perhaps, Heidegger’s stay in the seminary had contributed to the pursuit of such philosophical endeavor. Thus, many commentators on him say that most of his later works have some relevance to theology. James Robinson observes:
Being- this was now the center of Heidegger’s thought. It was clear that Heidegger, placed this concept of being- and the concept of the ‘holy,’ which was apparently somehow equivalent to it- at the center of his works, and that it was from this center that he dismantled the tradition so radically (James M. Robinson, “The Discussion of the Later Heidegger” in New Frontiers in Theology: The Later Heidegger and Theology, vol. 1, p. 9).
Heidegger was known for his metaphysical nihilism, his dismantling of the traditional concept of Being. Through his philosophical endeavour meaning of Being become less clear. However, he attempted to clarify it through the various lectures on metaphysics that he conducted.
The question of Being was heightened again during the outbreak of World War II. Rapid developments brought about by science and technology added to the absurdity of human existence. Heidegger then sees his concern to find the meaning of Being within this technological era. He astutely claims that science had led people astray. It drives them away from the real meaning of Being. Thus, he tries to rebuild the philosophy of the early Greeks, yet in some way making it to be his own. He starts by re-stating the original question of Being. However on the process he cannot avoid to include the analysis of human existence. His great work, “Being and Time” is to a great extent, the analysis of the being of human beings which Heidegger sees as radically different from the Being of other beings. It is just because human beings can be aware of their being, and have always already some understanding of it, however vague, that they are also able to forget it” (Hans W. Cohn, Heidegger and the Roots of Existential Therapy, p.8).
Heidegger believes that man had forgotten Being in place of other beings. Man had accepted the comforts of science to the extent of placing them on the place of Being. Because of this reason, Heidegger was averse to the sciences. He was afraid on the effects of technology because it is rooted in scientific measurability, which leads to the objectifying and mastering of phenomena. He argues:
The sciences will interpret everything in their structure that is still reminiscent of their provenance from philosophy in accordance with the rules of science that is, technologically. Every science understands the categories upon which it remains dependent for the articulation and delineation of its area of investigation as working hypotheses. Not only is their truth measured in terms of the effect that their application brings about within the progress of research, scientific truth is also equated with the efficiency of these effects (Martin Heidegger, “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking”. Trans by Krell in Basic Writings, p.435).
In the opening parts of his book Being and Time, he explicitly claims, “this question [of Being] has today been forgotten” (Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, Trans by Macqurrie and Robinson, p. 2.). He believes that the question of Being must be re-stated and be pursued again. He made his attempt and the product is his magnum opus, Being and Time.
The Task of Thinking in the Search for Being
Heidegger himself believes that philosophizing starts in mood, with astonishment, fear, worry, curiosity, and jubilation. He mocked the thinking that philosophizing begins in thoughts. He believed that man never come to thoughts. It is thought that comes to man. This explains why he insists that Dasein finds itself thrown in a world not of his own liking. And as thrown, Dasein finds itself to be already in a mood. It already attunes itself. As it attunes itself, Dasein also opens itself for the arrival of thoughts. Thus, one can say, “mood is the link between life and thought” (Safranski, p.1). Every opening of oneself to thought is an affirmation of one’s life because it is this openness to thought that Being discloses itself.
It is believed that a philosopher’s background influences his way of thinking. The moods of the time where a philosopher is in and had lived through shapes and contributes to the advent of his philosophical endeavor. Mood awakens philosophizing in man, as long as it grips what attunements offer. Recognizing such phenomena, Heidegger argues, “philosophy in each case happens in a fundamental attunement. Conceptual philosophical comprehension is grounded in our being gripped, and this is grounded in a fundamental attunements” (Martin Heidegger, The Fundamental Concept of Metaphysics, Trans by McNeill and Walker, p. 7). It is Heidegger’s claim that philosophy and thinking refers to the same thing though he avoided to use the former because of the negative strings attach to it.
For Heidegger it is the task of thinking to receive Being. Since thinking happens in the attunement of Dasein, Heidegger believes that philosophy’s task is to think Being of beings. The task of philosophy then is to go to the ground of beings to unravel and make presence their very Being. Heidegger explains, “the thinking in question remains unassuming, because its task is only of a preparatory, not of a founding character. it is content with awakening a readiness in man for a possibility whose contour remains obscure, whose coming remains uncertain” (Martin Heidegger, The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking, p.436). Here, thinking is not to be understood ordinarily, as scientific thinking. It is not positing the meaning of the thing thought in the sense of conducting oneself towards it.
Rather, thinking as Heidegger believes is going back to the roots, namely to Being. The call of thinking [philosophizing] is thus the call to be attentive to things as they are, to let them be as they are. To put it, thinking is characterized by openness. Openness in the sense of letting what is thought appears as it is. Heidegger argues, “thinking, in contrast [to scientific thinking], lets itself be claimed by being and is directed towards being. Thinking accomplishes this letting” (Martin Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism”. Trans by Capuzzi in Pathmarks, p.239). From this point, thinking is seen as a response on the part of Dasein to a call, which issues from the nature of things, from Being itself. Hence, all thinking in the original sense is a remembrance of Being and at the same time, listening to the voice of Being. Heidegger puts it, “originary thinking is the echo of Being’s favor, of a favor in which a singular event is cleared and lets come to pass: that beings are. This echo is the human response to the word of the silent voice of Being” (Martin Heidegger, “Postscript to What is Metaphysics?” Trans. by McNeill in Pathmarks, p.236).
The task of thinking (philosophy) at hand, as long as it thinks about the Being is to put forward Being in the open, so that Dasein can readily embrace and listen attentively to its subtle calling.
Being- this was now the center of Heidegger’s thought. It was clear that Heidegger, placed this concept of being- and the concept of the ‘holy,’ which was apparently somehow equivalent to it- at the center of his works, and that it was from this center that he dismantled the tradition so radically (James M. Robinson, “The Discussion of the Later Heidegger” in New Frontiers in Theology: The Later Heidegger and Theology, vol. 1, p. 9).
Heidegger was known for his metaphysical nihilism, his dismantling of the traditional concept of Being. Through his philosophical endeavour meaning of Being become less clear. However, he attempted to clarify it through the various lectures on metaphysics that he conducted.
The question of Being was heightened again during the outbreak of World War II. Rapid developments brought about by science and technology added to the absurdity of human existence. Heidegger then sees his concern to find the meaning of Being within this technological era. He astutely claims that science had led people astray. It drives them away from the real meaning of Being. Thus, he tries to rebuild the philosophy of the early Greeks, yet in some way making it to be his own. He starts by re-stating the original question of Being. However on the process he cannot avoid to include the analysis of human existence. His great work, “Being and Time” is to a great extent, the analysis of the being of human beings which Heidegger sees as radically different from the Being of other beings. It is just because human beings can be aware of their being, and have always already some understanding of it, however vague, that they are also able to forget it” (Hans W. Cohn, Heidegger and the Roots of Existential Therapy, p.8).
Heidegger believes that man had forgotten Being in place of other beings. Man had accepted the comforts of science to the extent of placing them on the place of Being. Because of this reason, Heidegger was averse to the sciences. He was afraid on the effects of technology because it is rooted in scientific measurability, which leads to the objectifying and mastering of phenomena. He argues:
The sciences will interpret everything in their structure that is still reminiscent of their provenance from philosophy in accordance with the rules of science that is, technologically. Every science understands the categories upon which it remains dependent for the articulation and delineation of its area of investigation as working hypotheses. Not only is their truth measured in terms of the effect that their application brings about within the progress of research, scientific truth is also equated with the efficiency of these effects (Martin Heidegger, “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking”. Trans by Krell in Basic Writings, p.435).
In the opening parts of his book Being and Time, he explicitly claims, “this question [of Being] has today been forgotten” (Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, Trans by Macqurrie and Robinson, p. 2.). He believes that the question of Being must be re-stated and be pursued again. He made his attempt and the product is his magnum opus, Being and Time.
The Task of Thinking in the Search for Being
Heidegger himself believes that philosophizing starts in mood, with astonishment, fear, worry, curiosity, and jubilation. He mocked the thinking that philosophizing begins in thoughts. He believed that man never come to thoughts. It is thought that comes to man. This explains why he insists that Dasein finds itself thrown in a world not of his own liking. And as thrown, Dasein finds itself to be already in a mood. It already attunes itself. As it attunes itself, Dasein also opens itself for the arrival of thoughts. Thus, one can say, “mood is the link between life and thought” (Safranski, p.1). Every opening of oneself to thought is an affirmation of one’s life because it is this openness to thought that Being discloses itself.
It is believed that a philosopher’s background influences his way of thinking. The moods of the time where a philosopher is in and had lived through shapes and contributes to the advent of his philosophical endeavor. Mood awakens philosophizing in man, as long as it grips what attunements offer. Recognizing such phenomena, Heidegger argues, “philosophy in each case happens in a fundamental attunement. Conceptual philosophical comprehension is grounded in our being gripped, and this is grounded in a fundamental attunements” (Martin Heidegger, The Fundamental Concept of Metaphysics, Trans by McNeill and Walker, p. 7). It is Heidegger’s claim that philosophy and thinking refers to the same thing though he avoided to use the former because of the negative strings attach to it.
For Heidegger it is the task of thinking to receive Being. Since thinking happens in the attunement of Dasein, Heidegger believes that philosophy’s task is to think Being of beings. The task of philosophy then is to go to the ground of beings to unravel and make presence their very Being. Heidegger explains, “the thinking in question remains unassuming, because its task is only of a preparatory, not of a founding character. it is content with awakening a readiness in man for a possibility whose contour remains obscure, whose coming remains uncertain” (Martin Heidegger, The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking, p.436). Here, thinking is not to be understood ordinarily, as scientific thinking. It is not positing the meaning of the thing thought in the sense of conducting oneself towards it.
Rather, thinking as Heidegger believes is going back to the roots, namely to Being. The call of thinking [philosophizing] is thus the call to be attentive to things as they are, to let them be as they are. To put it, thinking is characterized by openness. Openness in the sense of letting what is thought appears as it is. Heidegger argues, “thinking, in contrast [to scientific thinking], lets itself be claimed by being and is directed towards being. Thinking accomplishes this letting” (Martin Heidegger, “Letter on Humanism”. Trans by Capuzzi in Pathmarks, p.239). From this point, thinking is seen as a response on the part of Dasein to a call, which issues from the nature of things, from Being itself. Hence, all thinking in the original sense is a remembrance of Being and at the same time, listening to the voice of Being. Heidegger puts it, “originary thinking is the echo of Being’s favor, of a favor in which a singular event is cleared and lets come to pass: that beings are. This echo is the human response to the word of the silent voice of Being” (Martin Heidegger, “Postscript to What is Metaphysics?” Trans. by McNeill in Pathmarks, p.236).
The task of thinking (philosophy) at hand, as long as it thinks about the Being is to put forward Being in the open, so that Dasein can readily embrace and listen attentively to its subtle calling.