Heraclitus Seminar (GA 15). Translated by Charles H. Seibert.
The fragments of Heraclitus have, from the beginning, attracted and influenced philosophical thinking. It is hoped that this translation will allow access by English-speaking readers to the continuing attempt at interpretation.
The two principal contributors to these conversations are Martin Heidegger and Eugen Fink. Of the two, Heidegger is certainly the better known to English-speaking readers. His readers will find a familiar voice here. His interpretation of Heraclitus continues to take its orientation from the fragments that deal with λόγος and with ἀλήθεια.1 These themes have recurred in Being and Time, Section 44, An Introduction to Metaphysics, What is Called Thinking?, the "Logos (Heraklit, Fragment 50)" and "Aletheia (Heraklit, Fragment 16)" essays in Vorträge und Aufsätze, and Nietzsche, II, Section IX. In addition to continuing Heidegger's interpretation of Heraclitus, the present work is the occasion for interpretation of other thinkers and poets, notably Hegel and Hölderlin, as well as self-interpretation by Heidegger.
Eugen Fink, the other principal contributor, is less familiar in the English-speaking philosophical world. This book is the first translation of Fink's work into English. His role in these conversations is to provide a preliminary interpretation of the fragments that will give the discussion a "basis and a starting place for a critical surpassing or even destruction, and [will enable] us to establish a certain common ground appropriate to inquiring discourse." Throughout the book, the conversations take their sustenance from Fink's lead.
1. λόγος is customarily translated into English as "reason," "speech," or "word." However, Heidegger says in the "Logos" essay that the word "names that which gathers everything present into presence, and lets it present itself." ἀλήθεια is customarily translated into English as "truth," but Heidegger specifically rejects the German equivalent, Wahrheit, and uses Unverborgenheit, which may be translated as "nonconcealment."