Heidegger: Early Writings

Philosophy 382

Professor William Blattner
Department of Philosophy
Office: 240 New North
Phone: (202) 687-4528

last updated: 12/19/06

 

Detailed Course Information for Fall, 2006

• Paper Assignments
• Schedule of Readings

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Paper Assignments

Short-response papers will be announced in passing.

The first (shorter) paper is due Thursday, Oct. 26^th, in class.

The second (longer) paper is due Monday, December 18^th.

Assignments Archive:

• First Short Writing Assignment
• Second Short Writing Assignment
• First Formal Paper Assignment
• Third Short Writing Assignment
• Fourth Short Writing Assignment
• Fifth & Final Short Writing Assignment
• Second Formal Paper Assignment

 

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Schedule of Readings

• Primary readings are from Being and Time.
• RG: my Heidegger's "Being and Time:" A Reader's Guide, which you should read before class. (This will facilitate discussion.)
• BP: Heidegger's Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Readings from this text are always optional (but recommended).

Introductory Lectures

Aug 31:  Why Study Heidegger
RG, chs. 1-2

Sept 5:   Introduction I: Ontology
RG, ch. 3, sect. i
Optional: BP §3

Sept 7:    Introduction II: Phenomenology
RG, 3-ii
Brentano passage
Optional: BP §5

Dasein and World

Sept 12:    Division One, Chapter 1:  Existentialism & Heidegger's Concept of "Existence"
RG, 3-iii
Existentialist passages (Sartre, Ortega, Kierkegaard)

Sept 14:    Chapter 2 & §14: Being-in-the-World
RG, 3-iv

Sept 19:    §§15 & 16: Using Equipment
RG, 3-v, pp. 48-59
Passages from Husserl's Ideas

Sept 21:    §18: Worldhood and Significance
RG, 3-v, pp. 59-65
Optional: BP §15ca

Dasein and Community

Sept 26:   §§25 & 6: Being-with-Others
RG, 3-vi, pp. 65-67

Sep. 28:  §27: Anonymity & the Public
RG, 3-vi, pp. 67-73

How Dasein is In-the-World

Oct 3:   §§29-30: The Ontology of Affects: Affectivity
RG, 3-viii
§17 of The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics

Oct 5:  §31: Understanding
RG, 3-ix, pp. 84-91

Oct 10: §32: Interpretation and Hermeneutics
RG, 3-ix, pp. 91-98
optional supplementary reading: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article on hermeneutics

Oct 12:  §§33 & 34: Language
RG, 3-x
Optional: BP, §17

Heidegger's Rejection of the Philosophical Tradition

Oct 17: §13: Heidegger's Phenomenological Critique of Representationalism

Oct 19: §§28, 43a: Heidegger's Rejection of Epistemology
RG, 3-vii & xi, pp. 108-113

Oct 24: §43c: Heidegger's Rejection of the Realism-Idealism Debate
RG, 3-xi, pp. 113-118

Oct 26: §§44a-b: Heidegger's Rejection of the Correspondence Theory of Truth
RG, 3-xii, pp. 118-123
Optional: BP, §18

Oct 31: §44c: Primordial Truth
RG, 3-xii, pp. 123-127

Selfhood and Self-Ownership

Nov 2: §§35-38: Falling
RG, 3-xiii & xiv

Nov 7:  §40: Anxiety
RG, 3-xv

Nov 9:   Division Two, Chapter 1: Death
RG, 3-xvi, pp. 145-153

Nov 14: §§54-59: Guilt and Conscience
RG, 3-xvi, pp. 153-160

Nov 16: §§60-62: Resoluteness
RG, 3-xvii

Nov 21 & 23: No class meetings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov 28:  §64: Selfhood, Care, and Resoluteness

Nov 30: Division Two, Chapter 5: Historicality & Tradition

Assessing Heidegger's Place in 20^th Century Philosophy

Dec 5: Heidegger's Involvement in Nazism: Is it related to his philosophy?
Iain Thomson, "Heidegger and National Socialism," on reserve in Lauinger
Thomas Sheehan, "Reading a Life: Heidegger in Hard Times," on reserve
Thomas Sheehan, "A Normal Nazi," available on-line here
Thomas Sheehan, "Heidegger and the Nazis," available on-line here

Dec 7: Final Class Meeting: click here for topic