Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (German: [ˈmaʁtiːn ˈhaɪdɛɡɐ]; 26 September 1889 – 26 May 1976) was a German philosopher known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. His work covers a range of topics including metaphysics, art, religion, and language.
In April 1933, Heidegger was elected as rector at the University of Freiburg and has been widely criticized for his membership and support for the Nazi Party during his tenure. After World War II, he was dismissed from Freiburg and banned from teaching after denazification hearings at Freiburg. There has been controversy about the relationship between his philosophy and Nazism.
In Heidegger’s first major text, Being and Time (1927), Dasein is introduced as a term for the type of being that humans possess. Heidegger believed that Dasein already has a “pre-ontological” and concrete understanding that shapes how it lives, which he analyzed in terms of the unitary structure of “being-in-the-world”. Heidegger used this analysis to approach the question of the meaning of being; that is, the question of how entities appear as the specific entities they are. In other words, Heidegger’s governing “question of being” is concerned with what makes beings intelligible as beings.
Quotes
“Man is the shepherd of Being. Man loses nothing in this “less”; rather, he gains in that he attains the truth of Being. He gains the essential poverty of the shepherd, whose dignity consists in being called by Being itself into the preservation of Being’s truth. The call comes as the throw from which the thrownness of Dasein derives. In his essential unfolding within the history of Being, man is the being whose Being as ek-sistence consists in his dwelling in the nearness of Being. Man is the neighbor of Being.” ― Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings
- Not a lord: The phrase directly counters the idea of humanity being the “lord of beings.” Instead, humanity has a role of care and stewardship.
- Preserving truth: A shepherd of being is called to preserve the truth of existence, a responsibility that comes from a deeper call from Being itself.
- Living with Being: This role involves existing alongside other beings, dwelling in the “nearness of Being,” rather than standing apart from them as a master.