Heidegger's Philosophy of Being [Paperback]

Herman Philipse (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0691001197 | ISBN-13: 978-0691001197

This scrupulously researched and rigorously argued book is the first to interpret and evaluate the central topic of Martin Heidegger's philosophy--his celebrated "Question of Being"--in the context of the full range of Heidegger's thought. With this comprehensive approach, Herman Philipse distinguishes in unprecedented ways the center from the periphery, the essential from the incidental in Heidegger's philosophy. Among other achievements, this allows him to shed new light on the controversial relationship between Heidegger's life and thought--in particular the connections between his philosophy and his involvement with Nazism.

Philipse begins by explaining which problems an interpretation of Heidegger's question of being should solve, and he specifies which type of interpretation is the best basis for an evaluation of Heidegger's thought. He then identifies various strands or leitmotifs in Heidegger's idea of being, and shows how these strands hang together in the philosopher's work. In doing so, Philipse offers new insights into Heidegger's views on such subjects as human existence, authenticity, logic, and language, and into his readings of such philosophers as Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, and Nietzsche. Philipse then integrates into his interpretation of Heidegger's overall theory the latest scholarship about the philosopher's engagement with Nazism. Finally, Philipse examines the fundamental structures of Heidegger's philosophy and assesses whether Heidegger's views are true, probable, or possess some other epistemic or existential value.

As the most thorough interpretation of Heidegger's theory of being now available, this work represents a new phase in the vigorous debate about the philosopher's life and works.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A clear, well structured and provocative study of Heidegger's corpus. -- Times Literary Supplement

About the Author

Herman Philipse is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands. In addition to books in Dutch on such subjects as Husserl's philosophy of logic, Descartes' ethical theory, and atheism, he has published articles in English on epistemology, philosophy of mind, Husserl, Heidegger, and Wittgenstein. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (December 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691001197
• ISBN-13: 978-0691001197
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding exercise in post-Heideggerian deconstruction, January 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Heidegger's Philosophy of Being (Paperback)

Although poignant at times, criticisms of Heidegger's way of thinking by analytical philosophers has been predictable and stale. More often than not, Rudolf Carnaps dismissal of Heidegger's thought as nonsense, has been endorsed wholeheartedly and uncritically by philosophers raised in the Anglo-American analytical tradition. The supposedly nonsensical character of his work, serves them as a ready excuse not to read it at all, except as an illustration of the ghastly depths to which a deluded mind can plummet. Of course, Heideggers short-lived but well-publicized involvement in Nazi cultural politics from 1933-1934 has not been much of a help. Not so with Dutch philosopher Herman Philipse. Albeit an analytical philosopher, well-trained in theology-bashing on the Op-ed pages of Dutch newspapers, Philipse takes Heidegger seriously as a philosopher. He meticulously traces the origins and intentions of Heidegger's central philosophy of "Being", from Aristotle and Catholic metaphysics to Kant, the German Romantics and Husserl. Philipse dissects Heideggers thinking earnestly and professionally, not as an insignificant intellectual aberration in the history of philosophy, but as a theologically inspired way of overcoming Western nihilism. According to Philipse, Heidegger followed a "Pascalian strategy" in order to create a new German religion which would rescue European civilisation from the depravities of the modern age, more specifically from the hegemony of science and technology. Only a thinking which would open itself to "Being" would make this European renaissance possible. Heidegger, Philipse maintains, did not experience a dramatic "Kehre, or turning-point, in the way most of his commentators believe. On the contrary, he stayed loyal to his "Pascalian strategy": first, in his major work "Sein und Zeit", he depicted human life as essentially bleak and without comfort, then, after his so-called "Kehre", the philosophy of Being was expounded as the only viable remedy for this condition. In Nazism, according to Philipse, Heidegger found a historical manifestation of this new way of thinking. Athough the Allied victory forced him to cleanse his publications of obvious Nazi content after 1945, Philipse argues that Heidegger remained loyal to the intentions and "potential' of the national-socialist movement all his life. Philipse's study is scrupulously thought-out, thoroughly researched and well written and will no doubt surprise many students of modern philosophy who thought of Heidegger as just another obscurantist, and provoke many others who dismiss his involvement with Nazism as not essential to his philosophical legacy. One question on which Philipse does not offer a final point: is Heidegger's philosophy still relevant, and if not, why write a 600 page book on him?

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Comments And A Warning...., October 29, 2001

By 

Jeff Bricker (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heidegger's Philosophy of Being (Paperback)

Readers who come to this text hoping for a breezy summary of a Great Dead Philosopher's thought will be disappointed. This is a sophisticated and somewhat demanding study by a scholar who doesn't shy away from detailed analysis of primary texts, or for that matter, detailed analysis of works which influenced Heidegger (primarily Aristotle's METAPHYSICS, Husserl's LOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS, and Kant's first CRITIQUE). Also, throughout this book Philipse compares and contrasts the interpretation he is proposing with those of other contemporary commentators such as Hubert Dreyfus, Richard Rorty, and John Caputo. In short, if you are going to get anything from this study you had better already know your Heidegger, have some acquaintance with the history of Western philosophy, and already be familiar with some recent American Heidegger scholarship.

Anyone who meets these grim qualifications will probably conclude, as I have, that this book is a remarkable achievement. In less than four hundred pages of text Philipse manages to articulate and examine five themes which run through Heidegger's corpus, illustrate how these themes intertwine and diverge, and clarify what problems they solve and what problems they create. This study is critical in tone, but not mean-spirited. And I think this tome exemplifies a kind of admirable intellectual rigor notably absent in much of what passes for Heidegger scholarship these days.

Warning: Ignore the blurb and summary on this book's back cover. This is not yet one more discussion of Heidegger's Nazism (Philipse devotes only thirty pages to this tedious topic).

16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Attack a Strawman, May 23, 2002

By 

Gary R. Brown (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Heidegger's Philosophy of Being (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent example of how to devastate an opponent by using a hidden straw man approach. You summarize his position, thereby giving your book a borrowed richness while demonstrating your knowledge of the topic, then you reduce your opponent's position to five restatements of your own that you say are equivalent of his position. Of course, you have already secretly occluded your opponent-he has slipped your grasp. You then systematically show that each of these five positions is valueless and a mere misunderstanding, not really philosophy at all. Then you sadly announce how you were deceived by the author's rhetoric into believing he had anything to say, but upon examination, it all disappeared. Then in the last part of the book, you advance your own view, which is, amazingly, opposite of your so-called devastated opponent. You say that your opponent secretly wanted religion but could not find it. You hope that your naïve, unsupported psychologizing won't be noticed. The only problem is that the last part of the book is boring, and the book's only real interest and energy is the first part, which was borrowed from your superior opponent. The technique is masterful, and should be learned by all who want to deconstruct rather than construct.