Introduction to Metaphysics by Martin Heidegger (PDF)

Description

Heidegger’s Introduction to Metaphysics is one of the most important works written by this towering figure in twentieth-century philosophy. It includes a powerful reinterpretation of Greek thought, a sweeping vision of Western history, and a glimpse of the reasons behind Heidegger’s support of the Nazi Party in the 1930s. Heidegger tries to reawaken the “question of Being” by challenging some of the most enduring prejudices embedded in Western philosophy and in our everyday practices and language. Furthermore, he relates this question to the insights of Greek tragedy into the human condition and to the political and cultural crises of modernity.This new translation makes this work more accessible to students than ever before. It combines smoothness with accuracy and provides conventional translations of Greek passages that Heidegger translated unconventionally. There are also extensive notes, a German-English glossary, and an introduction that discusses the history of the text, its basic themes, and its place in Heidegger’s oeuvre.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I am not a philosopher or a philosophy student but enjoyed reading this book because:1. It shows cases some pretty original thinking.2. The question “why there are beings and nothing at all ” is eternal although in today’s world many people think there is only the theory of evolution and other “zoological” explanations to this question.Heidegger shows how this question can be posed in way that shows “what” it means to be even if we we know “how”(i.e. evolution, natural selection etc.) we came to be.3. The whole book is really about clarifying the question and trying to unbundle all the preconceptions about the question.Only towards the end we get a glimmer about what could be the start of an answer.4. Heidegger is an eloquent writer and this must in large measure must be due to the translator’s competence.5.Yes, there are many reference to Greek words and poems and one does have to read many sections twice but the scope of the book is sweeping so the rewards of a second or third read are well worth it.6.At the least you will question the familiarity of many words and their everday usage after you read the book and that should hopefully help you think more clearly and equally (if not more importantly, after reading Heidegger..)articulate yourself clearly.

⭐Introduction to Metaphysics is based on a lecture course Martin Heidegger presented at the University of Freiburg in 1935. Unlike in some other publications, Heidegger gets to the point straight away by asking rhetorically “why are there beings at all instead of nothing?” And much of the subsequent exposition is mostly tightly reasoned, always referring back to the question, “why are there beings at all instead of nothing?” Still it took me several readings to comprehend “fully” the question and its implications.If you are new to Heidegger but find his prose exceedingly difficult to follow, stick with it nevertheless! For me, Heidegger’s work is not merely an intellectual exercise or armchair philosophizing. Heidegger has given me a new pair of glasses through which I perceive and experience my environment: a deeper and richer experience of “being in the world.”

⭐This translation by the late, great Ralph Manheim is the last translation before the professional philosophers got hold of it, rendering it mostly unintelligible for ordinary folk. Mr. Manheim would never have countenanced such a result. For those unaware of Mr. Manheim and his accomplishments, it should be enough to note, among many other awards that the union of writers formerly called PEN is now called the PEN/Ralph Manheim union of writers. Writers know where their bread is buttered, and having a fine translator, such as Ralph Manheim, is worth whatever trouble it may otherwise cause, because it will please readers, and what pleases readers will show itself in sales, and — by-the-way — to the writer’s satisfaction and bottom line.

⭐Terrific quality of text and speedy service!

⭐I really enjoy this book. This pairs well with Derrida’s “Margins of Philosophy.” How language and etymology can uncover misinterpretation.

⭐Too hard to read!

⭐Good book

⭐There are some interesting takes on being, nonbeing, and seeming. However, it’s all rhetoric.

⭐This is a good introduction to the Heidegger view on metaphysics and his thoughts come across very readably in this text. It is almost like a beach paperback rather than a grindng philosophical text. My only criticism would be that it doesn’t really place metaphysics into the wider context, thereby making it difficult to link 20th century philosophers easily. However, it is readable for the lay person and I think that’s quite important to know if you are thinking of buying the text for something to read. There is sometimes a danger with such texts that the concept is difficult to translate – not so here.

⭐Clear conscience information

⭐Heidegger has a ferocious reputation, yet this, despite its difficulties is crystal clear – at least until the last third of the book – and fascinating. Who would have thought that discussion (for the first third of the book) on a single word would be anything but dull. I was not however entirely at ease with his appeal to violence to achieve greatness on Page 175, and I am not entirely convinced about his affirmation of National (or indeed any type of) Socialism, but then, what would I know, yet otherwise the Pre-socratics are once again shown to be the ground of Western Thought and everything after its ending with Plato and Aristotle a mere footnote – or perhaps as Ayer says, Metaphysics is junk.

⭐You really have to be dedicated to read this book. Heidegger is the most obscure philosopher going. He does at least repeat himself, so you sometimes get the sense that “I think I’ve grasped that.” Apparently, it’s a condensed version of Being and Time. Good luck if you want to read that one. If you want to dabble in Heidegger, read his essay “What is Metaphysics?” It’s just as obscure as everything else, but at least it’s short.

⭐Publishing such western classics will benefit the scholars

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