Books in Brief: Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger, by George Steiner (Viking, 173 pp., $10.93).

Timon of Phlius called Heraclitus “riddler,” and Heidegger, admirer of the Pre-Socratics, deserves a similar epithet for language that obscures yet somehow moves, inspires—and confounds. Happily, in this admirable introduction to the philosopher, Steiner writes in a style that is clear, yet manages to capture the élan of Heidegger’s foreboding Works. Divided into three chapters, the book consists of 1) a terminological tour of Heidegger’s language; 2) an exploration of Being and Time; and 3) an investigation of Heidegger’s later career, including an assessment of his political link with the Nazis. Heidegger sought a “retrieve” of Being, and demanded a “clearing” and “listening,” spurred by an “astonishment” at the “being of Being.” The history of philosophy, he thought, is a predaceous attempt to wrest Being from beings, to utilize Being without waiting for that which is most near, yet hidden, to reveal itself. The immediacy of Being has been obscured by misspent language; language which represents but does not reveal Being. Steiner calls Being and Time a “meandering, self-subverting, often provisional edifice, though on a monumental scale and shot through with inspiration.” Its “strategy is one of ‘towardness,’ of a journey which is only at its start.” Is this Being God? No such confirmation emerges from Heidegger, the author rightly notes; yet Steiner finds that “God” almost invariably can be substituted for “Being” (Sein). Finally, Steiner partially acquits Heidegger of Nazi activities, though he is disturbed by Heidegger’s reluctance to condemn the atrocities of the Third Reich. Steiner combines exposition with criticism, empathy with grace of style.

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Joseph Pappin III

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Martin Heidegger, by George Steiner (Viking, 173 pp., $10.93).

Timon of Phlius called Heraclitus “riddler,” and Heidegger, admirer of the Pre-Socratics, deserves a similar epithet for language that obscures yet somehow moves, inspires—and confounds. Happily, in this admirable introduction to the philosopher, Steiner writes in a style that is clear, yet manages to capture the élan of Heidegger’s foreboding Works. Divided into three chapters, the book consists of 1) a terminological tour of Heidegger’s language; 2) an exploration of Being and Time; and 3) an investigation of Heidegger’s later career, including an assessment of his political link with the Nazis. Heidegger sought a “retrieve” of Being, and demanded a “clearing” and “listening,” spurred by an “astonishment” at the “being of Being.” The history of philosophy, he thought, is a predaceous attempt to wrest Being from beings, to utilize Being without waiting for that which is most near, yet hidden, to reveal itself. The immediacy of Being has been obscured by misspent language; language which represents but does not reveal Being. Steiner calls Being and Time a “meandering, self-subverting, often provisional edifice, though on a monumental scale and shot through with inspiration.” Its “strategy is one of ‘towardness,’ of a journey which is only at its start.” Is this Being God? No such confirmation emerges from Heidegger, the author rightly notes; yet Steiner finds that “God” almost invariably can be substituted for “Being” (Sein). Finally, Steiner partially acquits Heidegger of Nazi activities, though he is disturbed by Heidegger’s reluctance to condemn the atrocities of the Third Reich. Steiner combines exposition with criticism, empathy with grace of style.