Monday, March 30, 2009

Heidegger guides us into philosophy by getting us lost

I found the explanation of why Heidegger uses words differently than the accepted definitions or even words that don't have any meaning at all. The description of violently manipulating and re-sculpting language so that he has the words he needs to begin the conversation made me think about the issue of the ineffable. This line of thinking also brought me to the idea that maybe the use of language in this way is more than just to try and speak about something which can not really be spoken about but also to present what can be spoken about in a much more free and fuller light. This allows for new ideas to be talked about while representing old concepts in a way that restores the power back into it and removes the commonness from the idea. I think this, along with his essays as preparations for questions are an important way of understanding Heidegger as a teacher of philosophy rather than just a philosopher. This is because these methods are not used so that he can prepare himself for the question and bring himself to the issues but to put us where he is and force us to see the world renewed and no longer simply common place so that we can see the issues like Heidegger can. In other words he turns us around and spins our world upside down to force us to recollect our bearings.

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