Heidegger and the Problem of Phenomena

(Paperback)

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This book offers a broad critical study of Heideggers lifelong effort to come to terms with the problem of phenomena and the nature of phenomenology: How do we experience beings as meaningful phenomena What does it mean to phenomenologically describe and explicate our experience of phenomena The book is a chronological investigation of how Heideggers struggle with the problem of phenomena unfolds during the main stages of his philosophical development: from the early Freiburg lecture courses 1919-1923, over the Marburg-period and the publication of Being and Time in 1927, up to his later thinking stretching from the 1930s to the early 1970s. A central theme of the book is the tension between, on the one hand, Heideggers effort to elaborate Husserls phenomenological approach by applying it to our pre-theoretical experience of existentially charged phenomena, and, on the other hand, his drive towards a radically historicist form of thinking. Heideggers main critical engagements with Husserl are examined and assessed along the way. Besides offering a new comprehensive interpretation of Heideggers philosophical development, the book critically examines the philosophical power and problems of Heideggers successive attempts to account for the structure of phenomena and the possibility of phenomenology. In particular, it develops a critique of Heideggers radical historicism, arguing that it ultimately makes Heidegger unable to account either for the truth of our understanding or for the ethical-existential significance of other persons. The book also contains a chapter which probes the philosophical commitments that motivate Heideggers political engagement in National Socialism.

Reviews

Fredrik Westerlunds book is a breathtaking work of Heidegger-interpretation and a profoundly original argument for the irreducibility of phenomena the meaningful claims that things in the world and other human beings make on us. Clearly written, the book challenges orthodoxies while providing an excellent starting point for anyone seeking philosophical and critical access to Heideggers entire path of thinking. * Steven Crowell, Joseph and Joanna Nazro Mullen Professor of Philosophy, Rice University, USA *
Fredrik Westerlunds engaging and thought-provoking book, Heidegger and the Problem of Phenomena offers a sustained criticism of Heideggers work from the early Freiburg lectures onwards. Although Westerlunds verdicts for instance, on Heideggers radical historicism and his National Socialist involvement may sometimes seem harsh, they are always backed up by careful arguments. Moreover, the criticisms notwithstanding, Westerlund is not merely out to pinpoint Heideggers shortcomings; he also carefully extracts the positive lessons Heideggers philosophy has to teach us. Heidegger and the Problem of Phenomena is a most welcome addition to the literature required reading for anyone interested in figuring out what Heidegger was wrong (and right) about. * Sren Overgaard, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Copenhagen, Denmark *
Westerlunds book is an ambitiously comprehensive and provocative study of Heideggers philosophy from his earliest lectures to his last writings. Westerlund brings an exceptional ethical sensitivity to bear on the fundamental tensions in Heideggers thought: the results are far from flattering, but they deserve careful consideration from all Heidegger scholars. -- David Cerbone, Professor of Philosophy, West Virginia University, USA

Author Bio

Fredrik Westerlund is a senior researcher at the University of Jyvskyl, Finland, who currently works in a research project funded by the Academy of Finland. Westerlund also teaches philosophy at the University of Helsinki. His research interests include phenomenology, moral psychology, ethics, understanding and knowledge, emotions, shame, and love.