Synopses & Reviews
Now in paperback
The Fundamental Concepts ofMetaphysics
World, Finitude, Solitude
MartinHeidegger
Translated by William McNeill and NicholasWalker
A crucial work for understanding a major turning point inHeidegger's thought.
... an important addition to thetranslations of Heidegger's lecture-courses. -- International PhilosophicalQuarterly
The translators of these lectures have succeededsplendidly in giving readers an intimation of the tensely insistent tone of theoriginal German. Heidegger's concern with a linguistic preconsciousness and with ourentrancement before the enigma of existence remains intensely contemporary. --Choice
There is much that is new and valuable in this book, and McNeill and Walker's faithful translation makes it very accessible.
-- Review of Metaphysics
Whoever thought thatHeidegger... has no surprises left in him had better read this volume. If itsrhetoric is 'hard and heavy' its thought is even harder and essentially more daringthan Heideggerians ever imagined Heidegger could be. -- David FarrellKrell
First published in German in 1983 as volume 29/30 ofHeidegger's collected works, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics includes anextended treatment of the history of metaphysics and an elaboration of a philosophyof life and nature. Heidegger's concepts of organism, animal behavior, andenvironment are uniquely developed and defined withintensity.
William McNeill is Associate Professor of Philosophy atDePaul University. He is co-translator (with Julia Davis) of H lderlin's HymnThe Ister by Martin Heidegger.
Nicholas Walker isResearch Fellow in philosophy and literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
Studies in Continental Thought -- John Sallis, generaleditor
April 2001 (cloth 1996)
512 pages, append., glossary, notes, epilogue, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
cloth 0-253-32749-0 $39.95 L /30.50
paper 0-253-21429-7 $17.95 s / 13.95
Review
"Whoever thought that Heidegger... has no surprises left in him had better read this new volume. If its rhetoric is "hard and heavy" its thought is even harder and essentially more daring than Heideggerians ever imagined Heidegger could be." --David Farrell Krell, DePaul University Indiana University Press
Review
"In this text, which is crucial to understanding the transition from Heidegger's earlier to his later thinking, readers will find a helpful overview of Heidegger's conception of metaphysics... a brilliant phenomenological analysis of boredom... an investigation of the essence of life and animality... and an analysis of the structure of the propositional statement..." --Review of Metaphysics
Review
"This authoritative translation is essential to any Heidegger collection." --Choice
Synopsis
This book, the text of Martin Heidegger's lecture course of 1929/30, is crucial for an understanding of Heidegger's transition from the major work of his early years, Being and Time, to his later preoccupations with language, truth, and history. First published in German in 1983 as volume 29/30 of Heidegger's collected works, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics presents an extended treatment of the history of metaphysics and an elaboration of a philosophy of life and nature. Heidegger's concepts of organism, animal behavior, and environment are uniquely developed and defined with intensity. Of major interest is Heidegger's brilliant phenomenological description of the mood of boredome, which he describes as a "fundamental attunement" of modern times.
About the Author
William McNeill is Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. He is co-translator (with Julia Davis) of Hölderlin's Hymn "The Ister" by Martin Heidegger.
Nicholas Walker is Research Fellow in philosophy and literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.