Martin Heidegger's 1942 lecture course interprets Friedrich Hoelderlin's hymn "The Ister" within the context of Hoelderlin's poetic and philosophical work, with particular emphasis on Hoelderlin's dialogue with Greek tragedy. Delivered in summer 1942 at the University of Freiburg, this course was first published in German in 1984 as volume 53 of Heidegger's Collected Works. Revealing for Heidegger's thought of the period are his discussions of the meaning of "the political" and "the national," in which he emphasizes the difficulty and the necessity of finding "one's own" in and through a dialogue with "the foreign." In this context Heidegger reflects on the nature of translation and interpretation. A detailed reading of the famous chorus from Sophocles' Antigone, known as the "ode to man," is a key feature of the course.

Readings of Germany's leading Romantic poet

About the Author

William McNeill is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University and translator (with Nicholas Walker) of The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics: World, Finitude, Solitude by Martin Heidegger.

Julia Davis is Research Associate at Whitman College and former Fulbright Fellow at Freiburg University.

Reviews

Heidegger's reading of 'The Ister' is thoughtful and rich. It provides his readers with the tools to build on his interpretation and to correct any missteps without doing violence to the whole.

* Review of Metaphysics *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253330642
Author Martin Heidegger
Format Hardback
Page Count 200
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 513g