On the Essence of Language: The Metaphysics of Language and the Essencing of the Word Concerning Herder's Treatise On the Origin of Language

This important early Heidegger text sheds new light on his later focus on language. This English translation of Vom Wesen der Sprache, volume 85 of Martin Heidegger's Gesamtausgabe, contains fascinating discussions of language that are important both for those interested in Heidegger's thought and for those who wish to think through the nature of language. The guiding theme of these reflections on language is found in Heidegger's lecture notes for a 1939 seminar that focused on J. G. Herder's treatise On the Origin of Language. This course, given just after the completion of his Contributions to Philosophy, sheds new light on the force of language in Heidegger's thought and shows the first openings to his later, better-known works dedicated to the topic of language. The result of this project is to outline how it is that thinking the being of the word moves out of metaphysics into the poetic word and its relation to history. A crucial work, this course brings the reader close to a decisive moment in Heidegger's thought, letting us see how he struggled forward to new ways of thinking how it is that "language as language" can be thought.

Table of Contents:
Translators' Foreword I. CONCERNING THE INTERPRETATION OF HERDER, ON THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE 1. The human being has language—The word has the human being 2. The traditional understanding of "language" and the essence of the human being (animalhood) and Herder's posing of the question 3. On the essence of language 4. Why do we ask for the essence of language? 5. Our reflection on language 6. The distinction between animal and human being 7. Herder's treatise 8. On the "Monadology" II. CONSTRUCTION OF THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE IN THE MODE OF USE OF THE FREELY OPERATING REFLECTION 9. Origin of language 10. The human being 11. The analogue construction of the essence of the human being, developed from the animal economy 12. Reflective awareness 13. Reflection and attention (differentiating), distinct, interpretable representing 14. Cognitio distincta (distinctness) 15. Reflective awareness and free-standingness 16. "Reflective awareness" and "language" 17. The inner word: mark of a distinct reflection 18. Inventing-by-finding 19. Individual considerations and conceptual determinations III. TOWARD A DISCUSSION WITH HERDER 20. Toward a fundamental discussion with Herder 21. Critical question regarding the analogue construction of the human being 22. Essential steps 23. Fore-grasp 24. Question—the fundamental position IV. ON THE ESSENCE OF LANGUAGE 25. The word as essencing of being [des Seyns] 26. Language 27. Language and "language" 28. The traditional—metaphysical appearance of language 29. The human being and "language" 30. "Language" 31. On the essence of language V. ON HERDER, ON THE ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE 32. Herder 33. On Herder in general 34. Herder and Leibniz 35. Language—speaking 36. Human language—animal language 37. Herder's first section 38. "The first word" 39. Reflection (reflexion) 40. Reflective awareness—reflection—thinking over—reflexion 41. The eternal merry-go-round 42. Language—the human being 43. Herder—on the origin of language 44. Mood—"voice" VI. PHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE 45. The beginning of philosophy of language proper during the Enlightenment 46. "Origin" 47. On the essence of language 48. The word 49. The other beginning VII. CROSSING 50. The knowledge of the crossing 51. The word "of" being ["des" Seyns] VIII. METAPHYSICS OF LANGUAGE AND THE CROSSING 52. The metaphysics "of" "language" and the consideration of language within metaphysics 53. Decisions, developed from the metaphysics of language 54. Psychology of language IX. STEFAN GEORGE 55. Crossing word 56. Sea Song 57. Sea Song 58. Sea Song 59. The Word X. LANGUAGE—FREEDOM—WORD 60. Freedom and word 61. Animal and human being XI. ON THE QUESTION OF THE ORIGIN AND THE HERDERIAN MEDITATION ON THE ORIGIN AS METAPHYSICAL 62. Humboldt 63. Drives of the unfolding and development of language 64. Herder’s meditation on the origin as metaphysical 65. Herder's question of the origin (In how far "question of the essence"?) 66. "Reason" 67. Question of the origin as question of the essence (metaphysically—being-historically) 68. Question of the essence and of the origin 69. Question of the origin and question of the essence 70. "Origin of language" XII. DISPOSITION 71. Question of the origin—as question of origination and of essence 72. Question of the origin 73. Structure and course of the meditation on the origin 74. Inner and outer language 75. Inner and outer word 76. The role of hearing 77. Overview 78. Herder: the human being 79. Three hints on being [das Seyn] (and being-there) XIII. QUESTION OF THE ORIGIN 80. Question of the origin as question of origination and of essence 81. Essence as beingness and essencing 82. "Project" XIV. FROM HERDER TO GRIMM (METAPHYSICS AND SCIENCE OF LANGUAGE) 83. Grimm's address (1851) 84. From Herder to Grimm 85. From Herder to Grimm 86. From Herder to Grimm 87. The "divine" origin of language XV. SAYING AND HEARING—SOUND AND SILENCE 88. Hearkening 89. Sounding (sound) 90. Sound 91. Hearing and hearkening 92. "Hearing" and being [Seyn] 93. Mark and sound 94. "Sound" and mark 95. The outer word 96. Sounding and script 97. Language (human) and hearing 98. Herder: "that which is alive" XVI. HEARKENING AS MIDDLE OF THE SENSORIUM COMMUNE "SOUNDING" AND THE "TONE THAT BREAKS FREE" 99. Herder's consideration of the role of hearing 100. Hearing, language, making sounds, sounding Question of decision 101. The being-historical response (cf. Question of decision) 102. Hearing as middle of the sensorium commune and the essence of hearkening 103. The sounding of language XVII. "FEELING" AND "SENSE OF HEARING" IN HERDER SOUNDING AND MAKING SOUNDS 104. Feeling 105. The sensorium commune and the sense of hearing 106. Language and sound 107. Herder's approach 108. Relation between the 2nd and 3rd section of the 1st part 109. What is reason? XVIII. "THE SHEEP BLEATS" 110. "You are the one bleating" 111. "Bleating" 112. "Listen!" "The sheep bleats" 113. "The ear the first teacher of language" 114. Sound and tone XIX. LANGUAGE AND REASON 115. Reason and language 116. Reflective awareness and language (inner word) 117. Reflective awareness and mark 118. Wanting to know 119. Reflective awareness 120. The distinction 121. The "as" and the "for" 122. Language as "medium of our spiritual self-feeling and consciousness" 123. Mark—thought in being-historical manner 124. Mark—inner word and dialogue 125. Aping and imitating 126. Origin of language: The question of the origin as question of the essence 127. The one and the other project of the essence of language 128. Language—the word 129. The experience of the word APPENDIX: SEMINAR MINUTES 1st Class: Alfred Franz 2nd Class: Georg Schmiege 3rd Class: Heinz Maeder 4th Class: Elisabeth Schmidt 5th Class: Siegfried Bröse 6th Class: Dr. Wolfgang Ritzel 7th Class: Otto Rasper 8th Class: Hans Hermann Groothoff 9th Class: Irmgard Mylius 10th Class: Karl Ulmer 11th Class: Paul Wettach Editor's Epilogue Lexicon