Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction (Interventions) [Paperback]

S. J. McGrath (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2008 | Series: Interventions

Martin Heidegger is one of the greatest conundrums in the philosophical world, alternately incredibly inspiring and mind-bogglingly frustrating. S. J. McGrath acknowledges the impossibility of trying to encapsulate Heidegger in a nutshell, and refuses to present him here in summary, thereby absolving the audience of the task of reading the philosopher. Instead, this introduction is truly that - leading readers to Heidegger where they can then begin or continue their own relationship with him. McGrath deals extensively with Heideggers excursion into ontology, for which he is most famous, having single-handedly resurrected the study in the twentieth century. A chapter is also devoted to Heideggers phenomenology, including an examination of his best-known work, Being and Time. No book on Heidegger would be complete without a discussion of his life as a Nazi, and McGrath does not shirk that duty, offering a chapter on the philosophers politics. His ethics and theology are also enthusiastically tackled, giving this deceptively small book a very wide range. McGrath writes, If in this book I take the trouble to point out something essentially wrong with Heideggers philosophy, it is only because there is so much that is right about it. Nonetheless, the book closes with a thoughtful explanation of why McGrath himself, though an admirer, is not a Heideggerian.

Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802860079
• ISBN-13: 978-0802860071
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,281,095 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Strong Critique, March 7, 2010

By 

G. Kyle Essary (Melaka, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction (Interventions) (Kindle Edition)

I found this to be an interesting and helpful introduction into some of the issues in Heidegger's thought. McGrath does a good job of showing the lack of distinction between the ontic and ontological that so much of Heidegger's writing (in Being and Time) is based upon. McGrath shows the natural implications of Heidegger's thought for ethics, and how they played out in Heidegger's life. Finally, he shows the theological reasoning behind much of Heidegger's thinking and subtly shows the flaws in Heidegger's thinking that led him to such outcomes.

I also cannot help but commend McGrath for his very personal (and reflective) final chapter titled, "Why I am not a Heideggerian." It gave a telling account as to why this Heidegger scholar cannot practically take on a true Heideggerian worldview. I recommend this book for anyone who has read Heidegger (at least Being and Time), and are interested in what a thorough (yet brief) critique of his thought would look like.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional for a brief overview, July 2, 2011

By 

Kornilov (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction (Interventions) (Paperback)

McGrath does not just tell you what you could, in principle, get from the original texts of Heidegger - though he does offer a well-written overview, balanced and appreciative. But he also identifies several of the crucial question-zones, the places where Heidegger seems arbitrary philosophically, the places that are worth interrogating and discussing. He knows where the pressure points are, thanks to his previous study of Heidegger's early encounter with medieval thinking. So McGrath has a real viewpoint, independent but with an estimable philosophical lineage (Christian and Platonic humanism, to give it a name, the very tradition that Heidegger is parasitic upon, as he "overcomes" it). In short, this little book is a philosophical statement in its own right, not just a scholar's dissent. It expands our freedom as we read a great thinker, rather than restrict it, as some commentaries tend to do.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially recommended for its willingness to challenge complex concepts, December 8, 2008

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction (Interventions) (Paperback)

Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction is, as its title suggests, a highly skeptical discussion of ideas attributed to philosopher Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). Sticking to the neologisms Heidegger himself used rather than take the "analytic" tack of swapping more commonly used philosophical terms for Heidegger's precise words, Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction notes that Heidegger frequently ignored ethical, political, and theological criticisms of ontology, embodying a common flaw in logical thinking that is to accept fundamental issues (in Heidegger's case, ethical-political and theological issues) as conclusively proven when they are not. An scholarly text suitable for college library collections and intermediate to advanced philosophy students, Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction is especially recommended for its willingness to challenge complex concepts even as it familiarizes the reader with their intricacies.