Speaking of Silence in Heidegger

(Hardback)

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In Speaking of Silence in Heidegger, Wanda Torres Gregory critically analyzes Heideggers thoughts on silence. Arguing that silence about silence is a guiding principle in his sparse and often reticent words, Torres Gregory sets out to decipher their elusive meanings. Charting the trajectory of Heideggers reflections, from Being and Time to On the Way to Language, she finds that he develops his ideas of silence in increasingly closer relations to his also evolving ideas of truth as the unconcealedness of being/beyng and language as disclosive sonorous saying. Torres Gregory distinguishes between (human, primordial, and primeval) forms of silence and (linguistic, pre-linguistic, and proto-linguistic) levels at which silence can occur in relation to sonorous speech. While the book focuses on these inner conceptual dynamics, the author remains mindful of Heideggers ties to National Socialism and clarifies how his theoretical assumptions allow for oppressive silencing. The book concludes with critical reflections on the later Heideggers thinking of silence and proposes alternatives to his claims concerning the sound beyond sounds, the metaphysics of mystical silence, the uniquely linguistic essence of the mortals, and the loud idle talk in the age of modern technology.

Reviews

"With her acute differentiation of human, primordial, and primeval forms of silence, Gregory succeeds in demonstrating Heideggers conceptions, early and late, of the dynamic and essential interplay of silence with language and truth. Her splendid study, at once appreciative and critical of Heidegger, is an enormous contribution that fills a considerable lacuna in contemporary examination of this enigmatic thinker."

-- Daniel Dahlstrom, Boston University

"Wanda Torres Gregorys compact and rich study places silence at the core of Heideggers philosophy of language. With concise and original interpretations of both lesser-known and well-worn texts from Heideggers corpus, she deftly traces the manifold registers of silence, reticence, resonance and sonority which enliven Heideggers philosophy of languageif not his entire philosophical project."

-- Adam Knowles, Assistant Professor of English and Philosophy, Drexel University

Author Bio

Wanda Torres Gregory is professor of philosophy at Simmons University.