This book concerns itself with an issue that is not sufficiently addressed in the literature: Heidegger's philosophy of science. Although a great deal of attention is paid to Heidegger's later critique of technology, no one has systematically studied how he understood "science." Many readers will be surprised to learn, through this book, that Heidegger developed the essentials of a fairly sophisticated philosophy of science, one that in many ways invites comparison with that of Thomas Kuhn.
Glazebrook demonstrates that Heidegger's philosophy of science is not neatly divided into "early" and "late" (or "Heidegger I" and "Heidegger II") but is, rather, an ongoing development over at least three periods, bound together as an analysis of modern science and an uncovering of other possibilities for understanding nature.
Glazebrook states in her introduction, "This reading of Heidegger is radical. It cuts to the root of his thinking, for I argue that what are taken to be Heidegger's many and significant contributions to philosophy-that is, his overcoming of metaphysics, his rereading of the ancients, his critique of technology and representational thinking, his vision and revision of language, truth, and thinking-have at their core an inquiry into science that drove his thinking for sixty years. I am not arguing for a new reading of a few texts, or for adjustments and refinements of existing readings of Heideggger. Rather, I am bringing to light a new basis on which to interpret his work as a whole."

About the Author
Trish Glazebrook is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Colgate University.

Reviews
"This is a major contribution to the interpretation of Heideggerian philosophy! In five carefully developed and scrupulously documented chapters, Glazebrook (Colgate Univ.) traces Heidegger's view of science beginning with his earliest phase, extending into the 1930s, when he regarded philosophy as "scientific," through a transitional phase, when he turned away from "metaphysics" to "physics," to the 1950s onward, when he asserted that modern natural science is already the basic form of technological thinking. Heidegger's critique of science, Glazebrook shows in detail, forms the backdrop for his evolving understanding of the history of metaphysics. In her final paragraph, Glazebrook accurately summarizes: "I have argued that the issues pertaining to science lie behind Heidegger's rejection of metaphysics, his entanglement with the university, his nostalgia for the Greeks, and his critique of modernity. I have further shown that Heidegger's thinking can be put constructively into dialogue with the analytic tradition of philosophy of science." Clearly written and free of jargon, this reliable account of Heidegger's philosophy of science will take its place alongside the major studies of his philosophy and should be in every library where Heidegger's writings themselves have a place. This reviewer read it with great excitement and learned from every page. Highly recommended; all academic levels and professionals." -Choice



Book Information
ISBN 9780823220380
Author Trish Glazebrook
Format Paperback
Page Count 278
Imprint Fordham University Press
Publisher Fordham University Press