Introduction to Philosophy—Thinking and Poetizing: (Studies in Continental Thought)

First published in 1990 as the second part of volume 50 of Heidegger's Complete Works, Introduction to Philosophy presents Heidegger's final lecture course given at the University of Freiburg in 1944 before he was drafted into the German army. While the lecture is incomplete, Heidegger provides a clear and provocative discussion of the relation between philosophy and poetry by analyzing Nietzsche's poetry. Here, Heidegger explores themes such as the home and homelessness, the age of technology, globalization, postmodernity, the philosophy of poetry and language, aesthetics, and the role of philosophy in society. Translated into English for the first time, this text will be of particular interest to those who study Heidegger's politics and political philosophy.

Table of Contents:
Editor's Foreword Translator's Foreword Introduction Introduction to Philosophy as a Guide to Genuine Thinking through the Thinker Nietzsche and the Poet Hölderlin 1. The Impossibility of an Intro-duction to Philosophy 2. The Need for a Guide to Become at Home in Genuine Thinking 3. The Manifold Ways for a Guide to Genuine Thinking. The Question: "What Now Is?" 4. The Consideration of Thinking in its Relation to Poetizing as One of the Ways for a Guide to Genuine Thinking. Nietzsche and Hölderlin 5. The Confrontation with Thinking that Encounters us Historically: Nietzsche's Main and Fundamental Thought Review (First Draft) Chapter 1 The Fundamental Experience and Fundamental Attunement of Nietzsche's Thinking 6. The Godlessness and Worldlessness of the Modern Human as Nietzsche's Fundamental Experience a) The "Creation" of the Gods by Humans b) The Scope of the Thought of the Human as the "Creating One," the "Creative" in the Human c) The "Metaphysical" Ground of the Thought of the Creative Human: The Modern Determination of the Essence of the Human d) Thought in a Greek Way e) The Worldlessness of the Modern Human 7. The Homelessness of the Modern Human as Nietzsche's Fundamental Attunement a) The Loss of the Previous Home in the Anticipating and Searching for the New Home b) Rationality that Merely Calculates and the Forgetting of the Western Historical Determination Chapter 2 The Creation of the New Home Out of the Will to Power 8. The Homeless Ones as the Conquerors and Discoverers of the New Home 9. Nietzsche's Main Thought: The Will to Power as Essenz (Essence) of Beings and as the Final Fact. The Veiled Difference between Being and Beings Thinking and Poetizing Considerations for the Lecture Introduction Thinking and Poetizing: Philosophy and Poetry ( and ) 1. The Comparing of Thinking and Poetizing. Genuine Comparing 2. The Measure-Setting of the Decisive Thinkers and Poets for the Assessment of the Essence of Thinking and Poetizing 3. The Necessity of a Preparation for the Hearing of Thinking and Poetizing 4. Reflection on Thinking and Poetizing and Their Relationship. The Question-Worthy as the Standard for Contemplation Supplements Second Version of the Review: Introduction to Philosophy—Thinking and Poetizing Review of pp. 105ff. (Nietzsche. On the Relationship between Thinking and Poetizing) Second Version of the Manuscript pp. 4–5: On Thinking and Poetizing. Considerations for the Lecture (Preliminary Questions for the Reflection on Thinking and Poetizing) Two Fragmentary Versions of Manuscript p. 12 a) First Fragmentary Version b) Second Fragmentary Version Notes to the Lecture: Introduction to Philosophy—Thinking and Poetizing The Eternal Return of the Same The Will to Power—the Eternal Return of the Same Appendix to Nietzsche's Metaphysics Notes to Nietzsche's Metaphysics Who Is Zarathustra? A Confrontation with Nietzsche Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra Return and Übermensch Eternal Return of the Same and bermensch Zarathustra's Preface Lecture Announcements: Transcriptions and Facsimiles Editor's Afterword

About the Author :
Phillip Jacques Braunstein teaches in the philosophy department at Loyola Marymount University.

Review :
"[This] translation is readable and admirably unobtrusive. Phillip Jacques Braunstein (independent scholar and entrepreneur) renders Heidegger's key terms in recognisable ways. He has a keen sense of when and how to include the original German in order to reveal translation choices and Heidegger's wordplay without sacrificing the flow of the text.2011"—Notre Dame Philosophical Review "[Abiding] within the depths of Holderlin's way of speaking, Heidegger arrives at the crossing between philosophy and poetry: the creative tension or 'essential sway' within language . . . .Sept. 2011"—REVIEW OF METAPHYSICS "Heidegger's Introduction to Philosophy—Thinking and Poetizing sheds important light on his thinking in 1944, when the lectures of which it is composed were given. By way of discussing Nietzsche's poems in terms of the distinction between thinking and poetizing, it clarifies both what that distinction is and how it works in Heidegger's thought. Wisely chosen appendices and supplements give further clarification. The translation, by Phillip Jacques Braunstein, is superlative. Braunstein has deep knowledge of Heidegger and of German, and his instincts are unerring. He manages well the inevitable trade-offs between English readability and faithfulness to the German. This will be recognized as one of the best translations of Heidegger into English ever produced. The combination of illuminating texts by Heidegger and the brilliant translation by Braunstein recommend the book for adoption in advanced undergraduate courses."—John McCumber, University of California, Los Angeles