The Philosophy of Heidegger

Abstract

The Philosophy of Heidegger is a readable and reliable overview of Heidegger’s thought, suitable both for beginning and advanced students. Strikingly free from jargon, with many illustrations and concrete examples, the book provides a very accessible introduction to key Heideggerian notions, such as thrownness, the clearing, authenticity, falling, moods, nullity, temporality, Ereignis, enframing, dwelling and Gelassenheit. Organized under clear headings, Watt’s exposition avoids complicated involvement with the secondary literature, or with wider philosophical debates, which gives his writing a fresh, immediate character. Ranging widely across Heidegger’s numerous writings, the book displays an impressively thorough knowledge of his corpus, navigating the difficult relationship between earlier and later Heidegger texts, and giving the reader a strong sense of the fundamental motives and overall continuity of Heidegger’s thought. With a comprehensive glossary of Heideggerian terms, the book will be an asset for any student grappling with Heidegger's challenging work.