Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) (Studies in Continental Thought) [Hardcover]

Martin Heidegger (Author), Parvis Emad Emad (Author), Kenneth Maly (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0253336066 | ISBN-13: 978-0253336064 | Publication Date: January 22, 2000 | Edition: First Edition

"[Heidegger's] greatest work... essential for all collections." —Choice

"... students of Heidegger will surely find this book indispensable." —Library Journal

Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning), written in 1936-38 and first published in 1989 as Beiträge zur Philosophie (Vom Ereignis), is Heidegger's most ground-breaking work after the publication of Being and Time in 1927. If Being and Time is perceived as undermining modern metaphysics, Contributions undertakes to reshape the very project of thinking.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Considered by scholars to be Heidegger's most important work after Being and Time, this book was written during the 1930s but did not become available to the public until 1989. (This is the first translation from the German.) Here Heidegger attempts to carry out what he calls "being-historical thinking." Since the way in which "being" discloses itself throughout history varies, he sees his task as describing the key moments of the process. As usual, Heidegger's analysis proceeds from careful attention to the origins of philosophical terms. He writes in an aphoristic style and often employs new and strange words, but students of Heidegger will surely find this book indispensable.
-David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., OH
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Publication of this volume is the most important event in Heidegger scholarship in English since the 1962 publication of the first English translation of Sein und Zeit. Although a new translation of Being and Time has appeared (CH, Mar'97), it is difficult to imagine that this inventive and highly readable translation of Beiträge (Beitrage) zur Philosophie (vom Ereignis), by Emad (emer., DePaul Univ.) and Maly (Univ. of Wisconsin—LaCrosse), will ever be superseded. Indeed, Being and Time appears almost conventional in light of the global transformation of ordinary language that characterizes Contributions to Philosophy. Emad and Maly acknowledge that the German original itself is not readily accessible to German readers. Since the 1989 posthumous publication of the Beiträge (Beitrage), the relation of this 1936—38 manuscript to Heidegger's thinking has become a major topic. Contributions is about the turn toward Seyn (be—ing—the archaic spelling of Sein—being), which implies a turn toward the resistant enigma of another origin. The major decisions in this translation (e.g., Ereignis as enowning instead of appropriation; Wesung as swaying instead of essencing) make Heidegger's thinking more accessible to English speakers. This translation will contribute greatly to establishing Contributions as Heidegger's second masterpiece and his greatest work. Essential for all collections. General readers; upper—division undergraduates and above." —N. Lukacher, University of Illinois at Chicago, Choice, July 2000

(N. Lukacher, University of Illinois at Chicago Choice 2000)

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; First Edition edition (January 22, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253336066
• ISBN-13: 978-0253336064
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,728 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Agree with the previous reader, January 8, 2000

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"aphilosopher" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) (Studies in Continental Thought) (Hardcover)

I am fluent in German and own a copy of the Beitraege and am reading the English together with the German. Even the translation of "Ereignis" as "Enonwing" is problematic, since "eignen" in the German means to make fit or suited or appropriate to. Krell's translation of Ereignis as appropriation or event of appropriation is much better, since it captures both owning and fitting. Besides, the accompanying "er" words (such as erdacht) often get translated in a bizarre way (erdacht becomes the horrible "enthought"), so that the parallelism becomes ludicrous to maintain. I wish the editor John Sallis had taken more of a hand in editing this translation, since it's really important. In the (self-justifying, historically barren)introduction, the translators go on and on about Heidegger's "syntax" and "ambiguity" in a way which is embarassing, since Heidegger would question a style of translation which seeks to isolate syntax and minimize ambiguity. So they also show themselves to be well outside the spirit of Heidegger's thought. In the end, if you don't read German, I would still highly recommend this translation since you can get discern the main thrusts of Heidegger's involvement with the question within it and it is THE essential text which joins his later work. But for the subtlety and grace of Heidegger's thought enacted in English, we are still waiting for a suitably gifted translator, except perhaps for Sallis' Essence of Truth translation. Once again, it is a pity he did not find the time to involve himself more with this translation.

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An essential book, a problematic translation, January 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) (Studies in Continental Thought) (Hardcover)

This difficult text is essential to understanding Heidegger's later thought -- cryptic, rich, provocative. Unfortunately, you should keep a copy of the German by your side at all times, because the translation is very quirky and sometimes unreliable. Some choices are nice (such as "be-ing" for "Seyn"). Others are just plain weird. For example: archaic language (lots of "untos" and "yeas"); nongrammatical usages ("gift" as a verb, "heretofore" as an adjective); silly words with embarrassing connotations ("cleavage," "charming-moving-unto"); and a bewildering lack of definite articles. Heidegger's German is strange, but not this ridiculous. Is it worth suffering through the translation for the sake of the thinking? I vote yes.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Heidegger's "Second Masterpiece", August 9, 2007

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Tony See "New Thinker" (Singapore, Switzerland, Shanghai) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) (Studies in Continental Thought) (Hardcover)

Heidegger's "Contributions to Philosophy: From Enowning" is generally regarded as a second masterpiece, following his unfinished Being and Time, in which he reworked some of the major ideas that were explored in the earlier text. If you are interested in a good scholarly understanding Heidegger via a series of landmark texts that will lead you to the core of Heidegger's thought then this is definitely a must-read.

The Contributions, written after the famous Heideggerian "Turn" and after his fateful involvement with the "inner truth and greatness of the movement" is of a level of sophistication that is unmatched. Arranged in terms of a series of distinct but interrelated parts, the text overcomes the problems encountered in Being and Time and takes off thinking to new heights.