Book Description

Although Being in Time is the more recognizable of Martin Heidegger's many books, his second major work, Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) also had a substantial impact on twentieth-century philosophy. Heidegger's Possibility is a careful and creative reading of this text by renowned scholar and translator Kenneth Maly. As someone who has translated Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) into English, Maly has a unique grasp of the work as well as the philosophical dimensions that inform it, and applies his familiarity in this eloquent and fascinating study. Heidegger's Possibility focuses on issues of language and translation, which are both important formative aspects of Heidegger's work and which place his thought and writing processes in perspective. Maly's own philosophical understanding helps to illuminate such concepts as nondual thinking, a movement beyond subject-object and the being-beings difference, and an integral part of Heidegger's philosophy. In Maly's hands, this and other ideas emerge at the cutting edge of cosmology, ontology, and interpretive phenomenology. This study also includes the first English translations of two works by Heidegger, as well as an essay that takes a critical look at the controversy surrounding the translation of Contributions to Philosophy (From Enowning) almost a decade ago.