Lin Zhong Road

Author: Heidegger
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-07-01
Features: The Way Through the Woods is a crystallization of Heidegger's thoughts during that extraordinary period of human destiny. The book collects six important essays written by the author in the 1930s and 1940s. At first glance, these essays seem difficult to unify. This can also be said to be one of the features of the book, as indicated by its title: The Way Through the Woods—many paths in the forest, yet all lead to the same destination. The Way Through the Woods is one of the most important works of the 20th-century German philosopher Heidegger and has been regarded as a classic of modern Western thought. It is a must-read for those seeking to enter into Heidegger's philosophy. The book collects six important essays written by the author in the 1930s and 1940s, covering almost all aspects of Heidegger's later thought. The most striking feature is Heidegger's meditation on the essence of art and poetry in the context of the "truth of being," as well as his unique "history of being," which is also his overall perspective on Western metaphysics and the history of Western civilization. The Way Through the Woods, with such a title, does not sound like a philosophical book at all, but rather like a collection of essays or poetry. Indeed, it is not a "strict" philosophical work. Here, "strict" precisely means "usual" or "traditional." The solemn face of German classical philosophy, as people are familiar with it, is absent in Heidegger's The Way Through the Woods. Today, we might even say it is a "philosophical work that is anti-philosophical." It has its place in the postmodern thought of contemporary Western philosophy (post-Heidegger). When it comes to strictness, The Way Through the Woods has its own strictness, and this strictness is by no means the strictness demanded by traditional "philosophy." Rather, it is the strictness of "thinking." In terms of content, the book nearly encompasses all aspects of the mature later thought of Heidegger. The most notable aspect is Heidegger's meditation on the essence of art and poetry in the context of the "truth of being" (WahrheitdesSeins). This is primarily evident in the two essays included in the book: The Origin of the Work of Art and What is Poetry?. These two essays have become famous works in the field of contemporary Western poetics (aesthetics) and are widely discussed. The views on art (poetry) conveyed by Heidegger in these essays are, in fact, difficult to classify within the of traditional Western aesthetics or poetics.