I haven't read the essay by Rainer Marten that was
referred to a few days ago, but on the subject of Heidegger
and the Greeks, I found the chapter on "Aristotle" in John
Van Buren's _The Young Heidegger_ quite illuminating.
Van Buren deals in this chapter with the complex
stance Heidegger took toward Aristotle in his lectures and
writings of the 1920's. On the one hand, Heidegger saw
Aristotle as a principal source for the theoretically-
biased ontology of presence which was to dominate so much
of the subsequent course of Western thought. On the other
hand, he also saw him as a principal source for the
analysis of human existence which was intended to anchor
his new beginning in ontology. Heidegger seems to have
modeled his own concept of existential truth on the notion
of "practical truth" in Book VI of the _Nichomachean
Ethics_. He also found an Aristotelian basis for concepts
such as care, conscience, and idle talk.
With the ongoing publication in the Gesamtausgabe of
Heidegger's lectures from the 1920's, it's clear that his
relation to the Greeks at this time was more complex and
multi-faceted than was previously realized.
-- Phil Miller
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
------------------
referred to a few days ago, but on the subject of Heidegger
and the Greeks, I found the chapter on "Aristotle" in John
Van Buren's _The Young Heidegger_ quite illuminating.
Van Buren deals in this chapter with the complex
stance Heidegger took toward Aristotle in his lectures and
writings of the 1920's. On the one hand, Heidegger saw
Aristotle as a principal source for the theoretically-
biased ontology of presence which was to dominate so much
of the subsequent course of Western thought. On the other
hand, he also saw him as a principal source for the
analysis of human existence which was intended to anchor
his new beginning in ontology. Heidegger seems to have
modeled his own concept of existential truth on the notion
of "practical truth" in Book VI of the _Nichomachean
Ethics_. He also found an Aristotelian basis for concepts
such as care, conscience, and idle talk.
With the ongoing publication in the Gesamtausgabe of
Heidegger's lectures from the 1920's, it's clear that his
relation to the Greeks at this time was more complex and
multi-faceted than was previously realized.
-- Phil Miller
--- from list heidegger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ---
------------------