Heidegger, Ethics and the Practice of Ontology

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Heidegger, Ethics and the Practice of Ontology presents an important new examination of ethics and ontology in Heidegger. There remains a basic conviction throughout Heidegger's thought that the event by which Being is given or disclosed is somehow prior' to our relation to the many beings we meet in our everyday lives. This priority makes it possible to talk about Being as such'. It also sanctions the relegation of ethics to a secondary position with respect to ontology. However, Heidegger's acknowledgement that ontology itself must remain intimately bound to concrete existence problematises the priority accorded to the ontological dimension.
David Webb takes this bond as a key point of reference and goes on to develop critical perspectives that open up from within Heidegger's own thought, particularly in relation to Heidegger's debt to Aristotelian physics and ethics. Webb examines the theme of continuity and its role in the constitution of the as such' in Heidegger's ontology and argues that to address ontology is to engage in an ethical practice and vice versa.

Reviews

"David Webb's collection of essays should be required reading for anyone interested in the question of Heidegger's impact on ethical thinking. Webb's deep appreciation of the philosophical tradition marks him out as one of Heidegger's best readers." - Robert Bernasconi, University of Memphis, USA, author of Heidegger in Question
"Webb's analyses are well presented, clearly focused and luminously clear...an outstanding contribution to the field both narrowly and broadly conceived, that is both within Heidegger studies and in the wider debate of how to rethink the place of ethics in philosophy." - Joanna Hodge, Professor of Philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Author Bio

David Webb is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at Staffordshire University, UK.