The phenomenology of religious life

Abstract

Phenomenology of Religious Life presents the text of Heidegger's important 1920-1921 lectures on religion. First published in 1995 as volume 60 of the Gesamtausgabe, the work reveals a young Heidegger searching for the striking language that eventually formed the mature expression of his thought. The volume consists of the famous lecture course Introduction to the Phenomenology of Religion, a course on Augustine and Neoplatonism, and notes for a course on Philosophical Foundations of Medieval Mysticism which was never delivered because of World War I. Heidegger's engagements with Aristotle, St. Paul, Augustine, and Luther give readers a sense of what phenomenology would come to mean in his later works.Here, Heidegger claims that religious life cannot be grasped as an object of theoretical consciousness, but only as a way to live in the world. Heidegger makes an impressive display of theological knowledge and protects Christian life experience from Greek philosophy and defends Paul against Nietzsche. The appearance of this first English translation marks a significant event in Heidegger scholarship and affords a unique insight into Heidegger's phenomenology.