Toward the Definition of Philosophy (Landcare Research Science Series,) (v. 56-57) [Hardcover]

Martin Heidegger (Author), Ted Sadler (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0485115085 | ISBN-13: 978-0485115086 | Publication Date: April 2001

The three 1919 lectures contained in this text represent the earliest documentary record of the ideas, and of the general conception of philosophy, which finds expression in Heidegger's work of 1927, "Being and Time". In the lecture "The Idea of Philosophy and the Problem of Worldview", Heidegger takes his first steps beyond orthodox Husserlian phenomenology towards a pre-theoretical "primordial science" which would lay bare the ordinary structures of human experience. "Phenomenology and Transcendental Philopsophy of Value" undertakes a phenomenological critique of contemporary neo-Kantian "philosophy of value", particluarly as represented by Widelband and Ricket. The third lecture, "In the Nature of the University and Academic Study" presents further phenomenological considerations on scientific research and theoretical experience.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of these lecture courses for an understanding of the development of Heidegger's thinking; yet in the very act of illuminating this development, they also throw new light on many of the most fundamental ideas figuring in 'Being and Time' itself. This book will be essential reading for anyone looking for the argumentation behind Heidegger's unique conception of human existence."--Ian Lyne, University of Durham --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Athlone Press (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0485115085
• ISBN-13: 978-0485115086
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,794,501 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars early masterpiece by Heidegger, April 4, 2008

By 

Gyre Andrew Gimble "Gyro" (Eastern Hemisphere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Towards the Definition of Philosophy (Continuum Impacts) (Paperback)

The previous reviewer is correct that these lectures come from 1919, not 1918.

This course is Heidegger's breakthrough moment. The famous tool-analysis is first found here, not in Being and Time or History of the Concept of Time, as even some leading scholars (such as Rudolf Bernet) perpetually overlook.

The previous reviewer summarizes the details nicely, so I'll just add that the reader will be surprised at just how Heideggerian the young Heidegger already is in 1919. The early thesis work (one on the doctrine of judgment in psychologism, the other on Dun Scotus) still seems like student work, but this one reads like the Heidegger we know.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heidegger's Definition of What Philosophy Is and Is-Not, June 29, 2009

By 

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

This review is from: Towards the Definition of Philosophy (Continuum Impacts) (Paperback)

This is a must a read for any serious student of Heidegger because it introduces one to Heidegger's early reflections during the War Semester in 1919 on the nature of what philosophy is and is-not - a fundamental and absolute line that Heidegger draws between his own methods and the other Hegelian-Marxist methods.

As such, it also provides invaluable insights into the "way" that is already implicit in his monumental Being and Time. It is not too far to say that Being and Time in many ways presuppose or even extend the arguments that are already found in Definition of Philosophy.

This also provides a good way to approach his ideas about the nature of the university and academic study. The university is an institution designed for the transformation of human experience, instead of merely a factory for producing robots for the techno-capitalist industry or a diploma mill where signs are churned out for symbolic exchange. Hence, anyone interested in Heidegger and the transformation of university education should take this little book seriously.