Parmenides (Studies in Continental Thought) [Paperback]

Martin Heidegger (Author), Andre Schuwer (Translator), Richard Rojcewicz (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 22, 1998 | Series: Studies in Continental Thought

Parmenides, a lecture course delivered by Martin Heidegger at the University of Freiburg in 1942-1943, presents a highly original interpretation of ancient Greek philosophy. A major contribution to Heidegger's provocative dialogue with the pre-Socratics, the book attacks some of the most firmly established conceptions of Greek thinking and of the Greek world. The central theme is the question of truth and the primordial understanding of truth to be found in Parmenides' "didactic poem." Heidegger highlights the contrast between Greek and Roman thought and the reflection of that contrast in language. He analyzes the decline in the primordial understanding of truth—and, just as importantly, of untruth—that began in later Greek philosophy and that continues, by virtue of the Latinization of the West, down to the present day. Beyond an interpretation of Greek philosophy, Parmenides (volume 54 of Heidegger's Collected Works) offers a strident critique of the contemporary world, delivered during a time that Heidegger described as "out of joint."

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

André Schuwer (1916-1995) was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Duquesne University and co-translator (with Richard Rojcewicz) of Plato's Sophist and Basic Questions of Philosophy by Martin Heidegger and Ideas II by Edmund Husserl.

Richard Rojcewicz teaches philosophy at Point Park College, Pittsburgh.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press (July 22, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253212146
• ISBN-13: 978-0253212146
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #342,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating for a Heidegger "newbie", December 1, 2010

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Brendan M. Funnell (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Parmenides (Studies in Continental Thought) (Paperback)

I bought this book in some ways by mistake, not being familiar with Heidegger beyond an abortive attempt at "Being and Time" some two decades ago. I was more interested in Parmenides than Heidegger, but decided I'd see what he had to say about the mysterious pre-Socratic.

If one is looking for a 'traditional' study of Parmenides, look elsewhere. The book examines a few lines at most, concentrating on the etymology of ancient Greek words and ideas, their translation through Latin to German (and now English . . .) and how this relates to Heidegger's obsession with Dasein.

And I didn't mind a bit. I'll need another work to analyze Parmenides' thought and his poem, but as an introduction to Heidegger this was brilliant - so much so that I've purchased another 7 of the lecture courses. Loving ancient Greek helps in this regard. Although I do question some of Heidegger's interpretations and translations, I do not know how much of this is due to the translation of German to English rather than Greek to German.

I also purchased Yannaras' On the Absence and Unknowability of God: Heidegger and the Areopagite, as I think some of his thought concerning Being is more related to Patristic and Orthodox theology of apophasis than any humanist philosophy I've encountered.

But that's my obsession. How strange to discover I enjoy reading Heidegger!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Propably the best in understanding Heidegger's fundamentals, May 3, 2004

By 

JOHN PAGIASLIS (VOULIAGMENI, ATHENS Greece) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parmenides (Studies in Continental Thought) (Hardcover)

Hiedegger's thought has been developed and published in hundred of volumes.For us ,non academics, it is almost impossible to access all this "treasury" and we have to try some of Heidegger's most popular books.
In fact this book is one of the very few ,that gives you the chance in understanding the roots of Heidegger's philosophical program.It is not just an analysis of Parmenides and Heraclitus Heidegger's favourite themes of unconcealment and presence,but reader will have the pleasure in finding philosophical basics bulding Heidegger's conception of Technology,Phenomenology & Art.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heidegger does it again, September 29, 2002

By 

Adam Pringle (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Parmenides (Studies in Continental Thought) (Paperback)

The "Parmenides and Heraclitus" lecture course of 1942-3 is decisive for understanding the relationship between the Greek experience of truth as a-letheia and Heidegger's exposition of Being in Being and Time (the lecture on Plato's Sophist is equally important). This lecture course also helps to clarify Heidegger's relationship with Nietzsche and is essential for a confrontation with the Nietzsche lectures (sp. Heidegger's characterization of the will to power as the will to will). In addition, although Heidegger rarely mentions Hegel directly, this lecture course enters into an implicit dialogue with Hegel's lectures on the history of philosophy. Heidegger's characterization of history as the "transformation of the essence of truth" is momentous. Incidentally, Liddell-Scott defines aidos as "moral feeling, reverence, awe, respect for the feeling or opinion of others or for one's own conscience, and so shame, self-respect." In fact in the detailed analysis it goes so far as to say "personified, Reverence, Pi.O.7.44," that is, it specifically defines the "aidos" mentioned by Heidegger in the 7th Olympian Ode as the personification of reverence. Undermining Heidegger's so-called linguistic analysis/exegesis on the basis of his affiliation with Nazism or Catholocism is a sign of the refusal to take Heidegger's comments to heart.