“We know next to nothing about the poetic truth of the tragic poetry of Aeschylus and Sophocles (Heidegger, Heraclitus 1944, 237)” “The human is the place of the truth of being, and this is why the human can, at the same time, also be the confusion of the madness of empty nothingness (Heidegger, Heraclitus 1944, … (21) CONCLUSION: Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy

The modern human is fascinated by this technological monstrosity of brightness; when it becomes too much, he uses the mountains or the sea as a palliative; he then ‘experiences’ ‘nature’  an experience that certainly can become boring already on the first morning of the trip, whereupon he just goes to the movies.  Ah, the totality … (20) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 7)

“What are you gaping at, you scoundrels? Or is it not better to do this [Play with kids] than to work with you on behalf of the πόλις [city-state]?” (Heraclitus) The above statement reflects Heraclitus’s disdain for current affairs political involvement and his preference for philosophical contemplation or simpler, perhaps more authentic, pursuits like playing … (19) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 6)

Heidegger notes regarding phusis that when we see the Van Gogh that “this is art” or the circling bird of prey “this is nature,” as though artness and natureness was present incarnate in the beings (Pa, phusis, 212).”  More to the point with Heraclitus, beingness emerges as the being conceals in its emergence, “the animal … (18) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 5)

Thales is a step back from life, not caught up in the everyday and so falls in a well while thinking, and the Thracian slave girl laughs at him. Heidegger argues (FCM, 183) all creative action resides in a mood of melancholy, whether we are clearly aware of this fact or not, whether we speak … (17) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 4)

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We’ve been thinking about “to on,” the participle which is simultaneously the nominative/substantive “the being” and the verbal “being.”  We saw with Plato’s Gorgias that with the beautiful thing beauty is present as the usual Greek way to understand being.  This was then more fully shown as movement (Aristotle) or appearing, and so the mansion … (16) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 3)

There are 2 famous stories about Heraclitus The first famous story about Heraclitus involves him at a stove or oven, where he is said to have been warming himself. According to Diogenes Laërtius in his “Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers,” some visitors came upon Heraclitus while he was at the stove: “They say that … (15) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 2)

“We call those thinkers who think in the region of the inception ‘the inceptional [arche, 18] thinkers.’  There are only three such thinkers: Anaximander, Parmenides, and Heraclitus (Heidegger, Heraclitus, 4).” Heidegger considers Anaximander, Parmenides, and Heraclitus as the thinkers at the inception of Western Philosophy. I have previously posted about Anaximander and Parmenides. I will … (14) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Heraclitus Part 1)

All I Really Want (by Alanis Morissette) (Heidegger, Heraclitus Lecture Course, 1943-44, pg 11) I spoke previously about the polis and the fleeting nature of what is prized in it, the current, so I’ll leave the above two quotes as they stand. In ancient Greek poetry, the concept of the afterlife was often depicted through … (13) Blogging Through Prof Martin Heidegger’s Interpretations of Greek Philosophy (Parmenides Part 4)