The Essence of Truth: On Plato's Cave Allegory and Theaetetus

by Martin Heidegger

Overview

The Essence of Truth must count as one of Heidegger's most important works, for nowhere else does he give a comparably thorough explanation of what is arguably the most fundamental and abiding theme of his entire philosophy, namely the difference between truth as the unhiddenness of beings and truth as the correctness of propositions. For Heidegger, it is by neglecting the former primordial concept of truth in favor of the latter derivative concept that Western philosophy, beginning already with Plato, took off on its metaphysical course towards the bankruptcy of the present day. This first ever translation into English consists of a lecture course delivered by Heidegger at the University of Freiburg in 1931-32. Part One of the course provides a detailed analysis of Plato's allegory of the cave in the Republic, while Part Two gives a detailed exegesis and interpretation of a central section of Plato's Theaetetus, and is essential for the full understanding of his later well-known essay Plato's Doctrine of Truth. As always with Heidegger's writings on the Greeks, the point of his interpretative method is to bring to light the original meaning of philosophical concepts, especially to free up these concepts to their intrinsic power.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826477040
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/09/2004
Series:	Continuum Impacts , #64
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most important philosophers.

Table of Contents

Translator's Foreword
Publisher's Note
I. The Idea of Philosophy and the Problem of Worldview
Preliminary Remarks
Introduction
Part I. The Idea of Philosophy as Primordial Science
1. The Search for a Methodological Way
2. Critique of Teleological-Critical Method
Part II. Phenomenology as Pre-Theoretical Primordial Science
1. Analysis of the Structure of Experience
2. The Problem of Presuppositions
3. Primordial Science as Pre-Theoretical Science
II. Phenomenology and Transcendental Philosophy of Value
Introduction
Part I. Historical Presentation of the Problem
1. The Genesis of Philosophy of Value as the Cultural Philosophy of the Present
2. Windelband's Grounding of Modern Transcendental Philosophy of Value
3. The Further Development of Value-Philosophy by Rickert
Part II. Critical Considerations
Appendix I: On the Nature of the University and Academic Study
Appendix II: The Idea of Philosophy and the Problem of Worldview
Short Glossary
Index

Editorial Reviews

Finally a short note on the book. Ted Sadler s writing is an example to the general reader of how to read philosophical texts slowly, as one reads poems, of the encounter with the art of going slowly [following] Heidegger s conviction that philosophy, genuinely undertaken and carried through, subverts the impatient hunger for results so characteristic of the modern age [x-xi]. Within the world of scholarship this is a classic that will certainly stimulate any future discussion, but on Heidegger s terms. Francesco Tampoia, Philosophy in Review/ Comptes Rendus Philosophiques, January 2004-June 2004

From the Publisher

Over the past decade, an abundant number of Heidegger's writings have been translated into English. Key among them are the lectures he delivered both prior to and following the writing of his magnum opus, Being and Time, which allow us as never before to chart Heidegger's philosophical development. Here are two new additions to the series. The Essence of Human Freedom, which derives from a set of lectures Heidegger delivered in 1930 at Freiburg, focuses on human freedom as the leading question of philosophy. Heidegger contends that this emphasis on freedom enables us to understand philosophy as a "going-after-the-whole" that is at the same time a "going-to-our-roots." In other words, we must search for the essence of human freedom in the constant presence of being-in-the-world that precedes and grounds philosophical thinking. Heidegger plunders Kant's understandings of freedom and Aristotle's theories of metaphysics to establish his own theory that the understanding of human freedom provides the starting point for philosophy (metaphysics). One year later, Heidegger turned his gaze on the essence of truth. In a lecture course delivered at Freiburg in 1931-32, he engaged in a close philosophical reading of Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" and a section from Plato's Theaetetus. In Plato's allegory, men are shackled and can only see the shadows cast on the cave's wall by a fire. These shadows are their reality. But when one of them escapes into the sunlight, he sees that the shadows are not reality but illusion. For Heidegger, this man-who in Plato's story becomes the model for a philosopher-has had the truth revealed to him. Truth cannot be possessed merely as correct propositions, as Heidegger argues that the history of philosophy has taught. Rather, he contends, "the question of the essence of truth as unhiddenness is the question of the history of human essence." A shorter essay that derives from this lecture can be found in both Basic Writings and in Existence and Being. These new volumes reveal Heidegger's consummate exegetical and hermeneutical skills, but given their technical philosophical jargon, they are recommended only for academic or large public libraries.-Henry L. Carrigan Jr., Lancaster, PA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Based on the lectures of a course given by Hiedegger in 1931-32, this work analyzes Plato's allegory of the cave in the and interprets a central section of Plato's dialogue, the . According to the translator, the work gives the fullest account of Heidegger's thinking on the "difference between truth as the `unhiddenness of beings' and truth as the `correctness of propositions.'" Translated from the original German work hlengleichnis und The<:a>tet/> (1988), vol. 34 of Heidegger's . Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews