>
> I have a question about the use of greek in Heidegger's philosophy (see: I
> haven't forgotten what this list is about!): The argument for using greek,
> as I have understood it, is that greek is the language in which the
> question of philosophy was first framed. OK. Now: what about chinese? What about
> *any* old language? What about the 'dead languages'?
The greek used by Greek philosophers is a 'dead' language. It's
as close to modern greek as, say, latin is to italian.
The main reason for using the original language is to not lose
what those philosophers wrote. E.g., there are some half-dozen
classical greek words that are all translated as 'being'. That's
why Heidegger can spend days lecturing on a single sentence from
Parmenides or Aristotle, trying to grasp what they meant. That's
also why so many translations into english read like nonsense.
cheers,
Pete
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
> I have a question about the use of greek in Heidegger's philosophy (see: I
> haven't forgotten what this list is about!): The argument for using greek,
> as I have understood it, is that greek is the language in which the
> question of philosophy was first framed. OK. Now: what about chinese? What about
> *any* old language? What about the 'dead languages'?
The greek used by Greek philosophers is a 'dead' language. It's
as close to modern greek as, say, latin is to italian.
The main reason for using the original language is to not lose
what those philosophers wrote. E.g., there are some half-dozen
classical greek words that are all translated as 'being'. That's
why Heidegger can spend days lecturing on a single sentence from
Parmenides or Aristotle, trying to grasp what they meant. That's
also why so many translations into english read like nonsense.
cheers,
Pete
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---