Heidegger and the Human
Alternative formats available from:
Original and critical essays by leading scholars on the question of the human in the philosophy of Martin Heidegger.
Description
The human being stands at the center of the humanities and social sciences. In an age that some have dubbed the Anthropocene, this book addresses Heidegger's conception of the human being and its role in the world. Contributors discuss how Heidegger envisages and interprets the human being and what we can learn from his thought. Pluralistic in outlook, this volume covers a broad range of divergent views on Heidegger and his complex conception of the human. A short introductory chapter orients the reader to the significance of the question of the human in Heidegger's works, its topicality, and its relevance for interpreting Heidegger's oeuvre. Chapters are divided into three thematic groups: anthropology and philosophy; human being, otherness, and world; and life, identity, and finitude. This organization facilitates discussions of the systematic interconnection between Heidegger's philosophy and his critical thoughts on anthropology and humanism, as well as his relation to contemporary philosophers and their views on the subject. Various problems in Heidegger's concept of the human are addressed, and moral dimensions and practical imperatives implicit in Heidegger explored in discussions about intersectionality and oppression, the frailty of the human, and the embeddedness of the human being in nature, society, and history.
Ingo Farin is an independent researcher. He is the coeditor (with Michael Bowler) of Hermeneutical Heidegger and coeditor (with Jeff Malpas) of Reading Heidegger's Black Notebooks 1931–1941. Jeff Malpas is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tasmania in Australia. He is the author of Rethinking Dwelling: Heidegger, Place, Architecture and coauthor (with Kenneth White) of The Fundamental Field: Thought, Poetics, World.
Reviews
"Human nature and the human condition are burning topics at a time when human beings are transforming the planet and themselves, while naive anthropocentrism seems ever less viable. At this juncture, Heidegger's reflections on humanism and on the relation between being and humans are particularly worthy of questioning. The diverse essays in this collection rise to the challenge and consistently provide food for thought." — Richard Polt, author of Time and Trauma: Thinking Through Heidegger in the Thirties