Heidegger's contributions to philosophy

the challenge of its translation

George Kovacs

pp. 191-211

in: Frank Schalow (ed), Heidegger, translation, and the task of thinking, Berlin, Springer, 2011

Abstract

This study shows the uniqueness and the philosophical significance of Beiträge, as well as the exactions of the venture to render it into English (1); it explores the language and the way of thinking, the be-ing-historical, enowning perspective, endemic to Heidegger's second main work, and identifies the "ideal" and the difficulties of its translation as a hermeneutic labor, as well as the inadequacy of "an archival perspective" for guiding the translation and the grasping of this text (2). Based on these insights, this study, then, leads to a critical response to the hyperbolic, acerbic, despairing reactions to Contributions as a work of translation, thus exhibiting the collapse of their gratuitous claims, assertions, and assumptions under their own weight, as well as the failure of the "archival" approach to the translation (and ultimately to the assessment of Heidegger's thinking) (3); it concludes with showing the nature and the disclosive power of Contributions, as well as its significance for the future of Heidegger studies (4).

Cited authors

Heidegger Martin