Marlène Zarader’s The Unthought Debt

Abstract

We know Marlene Zarader from her first work, Heidegger et les Paroles de l'origine (Vrin, 1986), in which, as she puts it, her only ambition was read Heidegger . . . taking up his work in its entirety from an angle that appeared preeminent.... question of origin. Zarader has now turned second stage of her engagement with Heidegger, notably question about his sources. She challenges Heidegger's understanding of Greek origin in light of she calls tradition, meaning biblical, Talmudic, midrashic, and philosophical Judaism. Zarader is revisiting philosopher, Otto Poggeler's question, Is Heidegger's way of taking itinerary of Western thought in charge required by his thinking, or not?1 To that question Poggeler himself answered yes-Heidegger's interpretation of history of Western thought is required for his thinking of Being. Zarader will answer no same question. Working out justification of her no is stake of her book, The Unthought Debt: Heidegger and Hebraic Heritage.2 Her task: show that we do have construct metaphysical, and ontological, traditions in Heidegger's way in order follow his path of thinking. Better, it is encumbent on us set in a clear light influences on his thought that he could acknowledge. Heidegger's Gifts Philosophy or: Why He is Unavoidable Today Heidegger's philosophy, Zarader argues, is unavoidable-for philosophers-today, for essential reasons. She writes, at stake is knowing what it is that allows Heidegger's work occupy this position, recognized today as unavoidable. Zarader argues that Heidegger has given philosophy four signal gifts: First, Heidegger's work allows philosopher reread great texts of Western tradition in light of one overarching question; we can read these texts this way even if question is fully developed in them. She means fundamental question of Being, which Heidegger (re)identified. Of Heidegger's second gift, she writes: beyond diversity of Heidegger's texts, focus on question that shapes them [texts of Western tradition] beneath surface [souterrainement] is grasp them in their unity, which went unnoticed up until Heidegger. This unity is permits Heidegger speak of metaphysics in singular, of metaphysics, and grasp it as a coherent Western affair. Third, she says, to circumscribe metaphysics in its unity is in position grasp it finally in its truth; that is, set forth in ... same movement metaphysics' foundation and reach its essence, which went unthought until now. Fourth, reaching essence of metaphysics... (if it is this unthought character that constitutes metaphysics, at same time as creating its unity), amounts casting a gaze on metaphysics that could not belong it, could be proper it. If Heidegger's perspective belonged metaphysics, it would have fallen into same forgetfulness that always overtakes question of meaning of Being. In a word, Heidegger gives West a metaphysical heritage it could call its own, unified around single question of Being. The question of Being dislodged any particular theological conceptuality, while it declared Western metaphysics complete. Whatever we make of this gift, it involved a radical questioning never before ventured without some notion of divinity, substance, or first cause. However, Heidegger's pursuit of original question: Why is there Being instead of simply nothing?-whose origin Heidegger attributed pre-Socratics, entailed an act of unfolding that Heidegger did acknowledge. It was, Zarader writes, the problem of Andenken [memory] that I attempted restore . . . accompanying it its conclusion. At end of enterprise, it appeared me that, with assumption of Greek heritage, question of our origin was far from being closed; rather, question was perhaps just opening, and . …