What do you think?
Rate this book
Heidegger: A (Very) Critical Introduction (Interventions
Martin Heidegger (1889–1976) is one of the greatest conundrums in the modern philosophical world, by turns inspiring and mind-bogglingly frustrating. In this critical introduction S. J. McGrath offers not a comprehensive summary of Heidegger but a series of incisive takes on Heidegger's thought, leading readers to a point from which they can begin or continue their own relationship with him.
- GenresPhilosophy
144 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 2008
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 15, 2016
For reasons of egoism, it seems I can’t get over the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. I can’t let that dead German beat me!
But beat me he does, over and over and over again. (Heidegger, you slippery fiend!) Being and Time will chew you up and spit you out. It’s the verbal equivalent of getting drawn and quartered. The agony is slow and painful—seemingly endless. And every time you think you can see the light—that the pain will lessen—it gets worse.
Nevertheless, the most frustrating part of all this (to me) is that, when other authors translate Heidegger into digestible prose, the result strikes me as nothing profound—almost trivial, even. Was Heidegger an idiot? A loon? A quack? Or is it that Heidegger’s thinking is inextricable from his abstruse language?
Sean J. McGrath strikes a fine balance in this fine little book. Heidegger’s message is denuded (mostly) of its opaque linguistic cloak; but McGrath also avoids translating Heidegger into something he most definitely is not (like Dreyfus does, in my opinion). Another pitfall that McGrath skillfully dodges is to sound like a mindless evangelist of Heidegger’s (another thing Dreyfus does), and to voice some sensible criticisms of his ideas along the way.
The only major disappointment for many will be that McGrath is writing from a quasi-Christian perspective. To be sure, he’s no Jesuit. His opinions regarding Christianity are one of historical appreciation rather than unthinking obedience. Nevertheless, I feel it to be somewhat shallow to criticize Heidegger for rejecting “Christian humanism,” since ejecting the concerns and biases of the philosophical tradition is precisely what Heidegger aims to do.
That being said, I don’t wish to criticize McGrath too much on this head. It’s a relatively minor part of the book. What’s more, the connections he draws between Heidegger’s thinking and Luther’s writings are genuinely interesting. But perhaps what’s most impressive is that McGrath avoids bivouacking in the two major camps of those who write about Heidegger: (1) that he was a Nazi pig, and his philosophy is evil; and (2), that he was the greatest genius of all time, and pointed out everything that’s wrong with Western philosophy, and Western culture on the whole.
I should say at this point that this book is probably not best for those who actually want an introduction to Heidegger. (The Very Short Introduction on Heidegger would be a much better book for that purpose.) It’s more interesting (and more intelligible) to those who have struggled, or are struggling, with that great behemoth of twentieth century thought. Aside from few stray bits of academese that slip in, the book is well-written and clear. But what’s most important—it’s nuanced.
But beat me he does, over and over and over again. (Heidegger, you slippery fiend!) Being and Time will chew you up and spit you out. It’s the verbal equivalent of getting drawn and quartered. The agony is slow and painful—seemingly endless. And every time you think you can see the light—that the pain will lessen—it gets worse.
Nevertheless, the most frustrating part of all this (to me) is that, when other authors translate Heidegger into digestible prose, the result strikes me as nothing profound—almost trivial, even. Was Heidegger an idiot? A loon? A quack? Or is it that Heidegger’s thinking is inextricable from his abstruse language?
Sean J. McGrath strikes a fine balance in this fine little book. Heidegger’s message is denuded (mostly) of its opaque linguistic cloak; but McGrath also avoids translating Heidegger into something he most definitely is not (like Dreyfus does, in my opinion). Another pitfall that McGrath skillfully dodges is to sound like a mindless evangelist of Heidegger’s (another thing Dreyfus does), and to voice some sensible criticisms of his ideas along the way.
The only major disappointment for many will be that McGrath is writing from a quasi-Christian perspective. To be sure, he’s no Jesuit. His opinions regarding Christianity are one of historical appreciation rather than unthinking obedience. Nevertheless, I feel it to be somewhat shallow to criticize Heidegger for rejecting “Christian humanism,” since ejecting the concerns and biases of the philosophical tradition is precisely what Heidegger aims to do.
That being said, I don’t wish to criticize McGrath too much on this head. It’s a relatively minor part of the book. What’s more, the connections he draws between Heidegger’s thinking and Luther’s writings are genuinely interesting. But perhaps what’s most impressive is that McGrath avoids bivouacking in the two major camps of those who write about Heidegger: (1) that he was a Nazi pig, and his philosophy is evil; and (2), that he was the greatest genius of all time, and pointed out everything that’s wrong with Western philosophy, and Western culture on the whole.
I should say at this point that this book is probably not best for those who actually want an introduction to Heidegger. (The Very Short Introduction on Heidegger would be a much better book for that purpose.) It’s more interesting (and more intelligible) to those who have struggled, or are struggling, with that great behemoth of twentieth century thought. Aside from few stray bits of academese that slip in, the book is well-written and clear. But what’s most important—it’s nuanced.
August 9, 2022
Excellent explanation of, and discourse with, core ideas in Heidegger‘s thought. McGrath engages Heidegger with much of the Western tradition of both Philosophy and Theology, interrogates the Heidegger against the politics of his time, and shows how all such errors can be surmised down to a single error, assumed at the outset of Being and Time. All within 130 pages! Recommended for anyone with philosophical or theological inclinations, regardless of their level of experience with Heidegger.
Read
March 9, 2020It was hard reading in the middle of the book and the last 2 chapters were much clearer to me.
July 22, 2022
This is a wonderful introduction to Heidegger. I especially found helpful McGrath’s discussion of the subterranean influence of Christian theology on Heidegger’s thought.
September 12, 2015
I had no idea Heidegger could be understood.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews