From Reason to Wisdom: Heidegger’s Interpretation of Logos

Abstract

Heraclitus’ “all things are one” carries a classic metaphysical structure, which signifies that Being was already concealed at the beginning of Western thought. Heidegger delves into early Greek thought to reveal people’s understanding of nature before the deviation between logos (λόγος) and nature (φύσις). He argues that the light of Being flashed at the beginning of Western thought and then immediately vanished. The consequence of the concealment of Being was the formal opening of the path of Western metaphysics centered on rationality, which was taken as the path of wisdom. Western metaphysics ultimately led humanity to the realm of nihilism. Therefore, one possible way to address the nihilism problem caused by rationality is to return to early Western thought (pre-Socratic period), explore the original meaning of logos and nature, re-understand what wisdom is, and gain insight in wisdom to deal with nihilism.