Heidegger 1

Protocol: 22 May
Author: Gia
[words in square brackets are mine. -PJS]

Parmenides: Fragments
I. Being as discussed by Parmenides

• Being [spelled with uppercase letters] suggests that he could be referring to something different [from] the notion of being in everyday language.
• being as a noun: a being; the being—implies [creatures, entities (e.g. human being, extraterrestrial being)]
• Being as “well-rounded” and “motionless”
• Being is not [a creature or entity] that changes or perishes with time

II. Parmenides refutes Heraclitus

• Everything Heraclitus said is part of the Way of Opinion, as he talked about appearances, things that change and things that seem—nothing more than phainomenon.
• Contrary to Heraclitus’ beliefs, Being [] cannot [] be in flux, it has to be something that just is.
• We must sift through perception and opinion to find what is truly real.
• Everything that changes and is imperfect must still participate in the perfection of the Real.

III. Fragments

• Fragment 2: Non-Being cannot be explored, recognized or expressed because it is not.
• Non-Being is not the mere opposite of a certain concept, as Being in itself cannot be a concept that is in perfect form. [This last prepositional phrase is unclear]
• The thinking that there is a duality into Being/Not-Being is misleading; truth becomes further concealed.
• Fragment 3: We can only get closer to Being when we approximate Way of Truth by thinking.
• Fragments 9-onwards: discusses opinions prevalent during Parmenides’ time

IV. The [Pseudo-way, sphallo: false]

• Way of Opinion is different from the Inquiry of What Is Not
• Opinions are based on Being and are inquiries into what is (however still imperfect because they are of mortal creation)
• Reminder that the Philosopher, in spite of his enlightenment, is still a mortal with his own opinions and doubts of what he knows
• The philosopher’s task is to question and examine what people deem as established truths

Martin Heidegger: What is Philosophy?
I. Presuppositions in Every Question

• Asking a question presupposes knowledge related to the question
• The [inquirer] reveals that he does not know the answer.
• Presupposes that the person he asks is [most probably] capable of answering the question
• [The quotation from Fr. Ferriols expresses and summarizes this insight.]

II. The Question: What is Philosophy?

• Straight definitions are problematic because it distances the speaker from what is being defined
• Definitions distance in order for reality to be seen in a certain way
• Cannot grasp philosophy through a formula definition
• Philosophy [a]s methodos, by way of a path
• Similar to Parmenides’ Way of Truth
• Must use the historical approach to answer what Philosophy is
• Φιλοσοφία (Philosophia) – we express an affinity to the Greek tradition every time we use the word Philosophy, therefore we must go back to the meaning used by the Greeks
• To stay true to Greek meaning, we need to recognize that wisdom from elsewhere cannot [strictly speaking] be called Philosophy
• i.e. no such thing as Zen Philosophy, Chinese Philosophy, etc.
• Mere appropriation of the Greek word, as it is different tradition from what Philosophy really is
• We attach ourselves to the Western philosophical tradition whenever we do philosophy
• [Thus the category Eastern Philosophy (e.g. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Hinduism) is a misunderstanding and the category Western European Philosophy is a tautology]