Being and Time (Harper Perennial Modern Thought) Paperback – July 22, 2008

Being and Time is, obviously a ground-breaking work but it is also a work that frustrates many readers. It is not a book that one should try to read without the necessary background (some knowledge of phenomenology) and, ideally, without some guidance (i.e. a class in Heidegger). There are a number of books that attempt to make Being and Time more accessible. Unfortunately a number of them are very problematic. Personally I would recommend A Guide to Heidegger's Being and Time (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy) by Magda King. It is not the easiest or most accessible of the commentaries on Being and Time but it is one of the more accurate in my opinion. It also focuses more on the second division which is really the more important division though it is also the more difficult division and for precisely that reason it often gets less attention in the secondary literature.I should say a word about this particular translation. I do not read German but I have read both this translation and the new Stambaugh/Schmidt translation so I have a few comments about their relative virtues. As I said in my review of the Stambaugh/Schmidt translation I really like the Macquarrie/Robinson translation partly because it is the first translation I read so I got used to the terminology and partly because Macquarrie and Robinson give, I think, a better sense of the German by choosing slightly awkward translations (like ready-to-hand and present-at-hand, etc.). The fact is that Heidegger is introducing neologisms so I like the fact that Macquarrie and Robinson invent their own neologisms to translate many of Heidegger's most important terms. They also have extremely detailed notes throughout the book relating to the translation. Those are two definite virtues of this particular translation. There are two main virtues of the Stambaugh/Schmidt translation in my opinion. First, the translation is smoother and probably a bit more accessible for first time readers. The main advantage, however, is that Schmidt has put in brackets for all the major 'sein' words which indicate precisely what German word Heidegger is using. This overcomes to a large degree the need for different translations/capitalizations/hyphens, etc. (Being, be-ing, beings, entities, etc.) for all the different 'sein' terminology (it is important to realize that this only applies to the new Stambaugh/Schmidt translation; as far as I know the original Stambaugh translation does not include these bracketed terms). The bottom line is I think anyone who is serious about Being and Time should own and read both translations particularly if you are like me and do not read German.I should probably say a few words about the content of Being and Time. It seems a little ridiculous to write about a book that has achieved such status but my conscience will not let me post a review without saying anything about the contents of a book. Heidegger is, of course, primarily interested in the question of Being as he makes clear in his two introductions. Heidegger believes that Being is something that Dasein understands. We understand what it is for something 'to be' but we understand it in a vague way. Heidegger wants to make this vague understanding explicit but to do so he must understand the being that understands, i.e. Dasein. Most of Being and Time is taken up with an analysis of Dasein and its manner of being. The first division lays out what Heidegger calls the existentials of Dasein. They are like the categories that are applied to beings other than Dasein, the existentials are the a priori's of the being of Dasein. In the second division he grounds all these existentials temporally, specifically, on the three temporal ecstases of the having-been, the present, and the to-come. For Heidegger Dasein is essentially futural meaning the future has precedence. Dasein is its possibilities. This might seem strange but it makes perfect sense. Everything we do has reference to the future and to projects. I read Being and Time because I have projected a future in which I become a philosophy professor, etc. (the father in Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road (Oprah's Book Club) discovers this essential truth when he is looking through a bookcase at the end of the world and realizes that books make no sense when there is no future; their very being as books is predicated on a future. There is no reason to read after the apocalypse when there is no future because there are no human possibilities). McCarthy is being very Heideggerians since one of Heidegger's basic insights is that it is on the basis of the future, a thrown project, that Dasein is able to exist meaningfully in the world and make sense out of inner-worldly beings.This review is merely the barest skeleton of an outline of a few themes from Being and Time. Ultimately it is impossible to write a summary of such an epoch-making book. It might have been better to simply avoid trying to summarize it at all but I wanted to say at least something about the book. Heidegger has completely altered our understanding of our own being as well as the meaning of Being in general. Heidegger's influence on Continental philosophy is incalculable. All roads into Continental philosophy lead through Heidegger.There are many who seem to think, due to the difficulty of Heidegger's text, that it is in fact non-sense, a giant prank, and that Heidegger is not really saying anything (this is an extreme view I know but it is not all that different from the critiques leveled at Heidegger by prominent philosophers like Rudolf Carnap). For now I will simply offer my assurances to the reader: Heidegger's text is difficult, there is no doubt about that, but if you are truly interested in understanding it and you have the patience to work through it over many years (it will take many years) then I promise you Heidegger's book does make sense! Whether you will agree with Heidegger's positions is another question but it is my honest opinion that anyone who truly desires to understand this book can if they are willing to put in the work.

This is one of the most rigorous and methodically constructed treatises you will find anywhere in philosophy. Heidegger is known for his difficulty, but this book holds an added challenge due to its cumulative dependence. What I mean is, you cannot possibly come to fully grasp the later sections of the book without grasping earlier sections. Every bit of the author's impressive terminology (whether it be a common term imbued with new meaning or a clever neologism) is systematically chosen, introduced, questioned, and developed as the text moves along. If you have never read Heidegger before, expect to reread certain paragraphs at least twice before their meaning begins to dawn on you. If you are persistent, the meaning of his precisely formulated sentences will cause you to perceive the world in entirely new ways. I recommend - at least at first - taking this book in small doses. If you feel your mind wandering at all just stop and go back to it later. If you are looking to scan this book for tidbits of wisdom you will likely be disappointed. Alternately, I would plan on a commitment of at least a few months if you want to glean anything at all from the text.For those who have read Heidegger before: this book is definitely his magnum opus. Within it he establishes a point of departure for all of his later thought and works. It is also the most engaging and enlightening read you will encounter in his repertoire. Compared to Heidegger's post-kehre writings, you will find the material and style in Being and Time to be far more precise and clear [a very difficult feat indeed considering the elusive nature of the subject matter]. Also, reading this book more than once is a must! Do not be surprised if after the first read you feel as though you are missing something - you probably are.

Ideally, Heidegger's Being & Time is not one's first foray into reading Philosophy. Indeed, I would say a ~4th Yr Philosophy Student at University would have a sufficient background to approach the text, BUT! There are no Philosophy Students anymore...so, that doesn't help...Without trying to name drop a bunch of obscure Philosophers &/or esoteric writings (maybe a few), I'll name a few basic Philosophers & other Writings/Information one would do well to first become familiar with before approaching Heidegger — the suggestions are not absolute, certainly not necessary; in fact, Heidegger was quite popular with the hippie crowds in the 1960's US reading Hindu & Buddhist religious texts. So, there's always that route; however, the route that doesn't involve illegal psychedelic narcotics & countless STDs would probably include familiarity with:– Socrates (via) Plato, Plato, & Aristotle– The Book of Job, OT, definitely (just as a secular reading, no need to convert to any religion, or do...I don't care); also, it wouldn't hurt to be familiar with the 5 Books of Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Gospels, The Book of Revelation, & The Book of Enoch– Jakob Boehme (ok, a bit esoteric; but, he was a German cobbler that had a vision & developed a unique understanding of a knowledge above God that reminded me a lot of Heidegger)– Rene Descartes & Immanuel Kant– Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, & Sigmund Freud (the 3 Philosophers that delivered the 20th Century)– The Dictionary– The Translation feature on Google Lens (many of Heidegger's quotes are not translated)– & The Teaching Company has a lecture series recorded by the late Rick Roderick of Duke; if you could locate his lecture on Heidegger, then you will be absolutely set to take down Heidegger. If not, no worries; it's just calming listening to an Academic with a strong West Texas accent talk about Heidegger prior to reading Heidegger. I'm sure there are plenty of other people from West Texas happy to oblige if you search the internet.Anyhow, that's what I would recommend becoming familiar with prior to reading Being & Time. Heidegger just uses so many references, offers so much obscurity without a lot of examples, & he creates his own words (they're German words, but he's re-appropriating them). It's all there to trip you up & his work will start slow. If he makes a reference you don't understand, it's probably a good idea to pause & look it up the best you can. Once you get used to his writing, your pace will start to pick up...still, don't expect to read this all at once. Give it time — I was a Senior Philosophy Student in 2008 when I first purchased Being & Time; I didn't finish the book until my 3rd year in Graduate School (one, I didn't have a lot of time; but, two, it's a really difficult book).Once you finally figure out what he's trying to say, it will be rewarding, it might seem obvious, but it's not trivial & the profound will be in the undertaking in its own right.I recommend Heidegger's Being & Time; it's an important work in Philosophy, & its sheer difficulty offers a sense of accomplishment in its own right once you've finished it.