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Mindfulness
Written in 1938/9, Mindfulness (translated from the German Besinnung) is Martin Heidegger's second major being-historical treatise. Here, Heidegger develops some of his key concepts and themes including truth, nothingness, enownment, art and Be-ing and discusses the Greeks, Nietzsche and Hegel at length. In addition to the main text, the text also includes two further important essays, 'A Retrospective Look at the Pathway' (1937/8) and 'The Wish and the Will (On Preserving What is Attempted)' (1937/8), in which Heidegger surveys his unpublished works and discusses his relationship to Catholic and Protestant Christianity and reflects on his life's path. This is a major translation of a key text from one of the most important thinkers of the 20th century, now available in the Bloomsbury Revelations Series.
- GenresPhilosophy
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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About the author
Martin Heidegger
527 books3,343 followersMartin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher whose work is perhaps most readily associated with phenomenology and existentialism, although his thinking should be identified as part of such philosophical movements only with extreme care and qualification. His ideas have exerted a seminal influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy. They have also had an impact far beyond philosophy, for example in architectural theory (see e.g., Sharr 2007), literary criticism (see e.g., Ziarek 1989), theology (see e.g., Caputo 1993), psychotherapy (see e.g., Binswanger 1943/1964, Guignon 1993) and cognitive science (see e.g., Dreyfus 1992, 2008; Wheeler 2005; Kiverstein and Wheeler forthcoming).
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 28, 2021
“Ask Beyng!” - writes Heidegger in this book - “And in its stillness as in the beginning of the word god responds. You may roam through all beings: nowhere does the trace of god manifest itself.” If you do, “then there is Beyng”. Mindfulness is about overcoming metaphysics, questioning Beyng, letting Beyng be, and patiently waiting for the last god to respond.
All his previous works up to this point - including “Being and Time” - are retrospectively denounced here as metaphysically speaking and presenting; even if Heidegger claims that his thinking in them was not metaphysical. Then there was the fiasco of his political involvement with the Nazi and his failure as rector. Later in his “Ponderings”, he claims that around 1933 he was not able to fully realize what “God is dead” meant in terms of metaphysics and political action; hence his political mistakes.
In this book Heidegger is purifying himself of the last traces of metaphysics in his thinking, speaking, and action. It started with “Contributions to Philosophy (of the Event)”. “Mindfulness” followed along with several other books. “Contributions” is the main one, while “Mindfulness” follows closely in importance. “Contributions” goes deeper, but it is rather schematic; while this one develops its arguments at length. The depths of thinking and insights in these books are mind-blowing and shocking. The style of writing is like nothing before them. The thinking and writing here are no longer bounded by traditional ontology, philosophy, language, logic, standard arguments, methodologies, and so on. Heidegger starts and stays with Beyng; as the inquire it is no longer about “what are beings?“, but about “how does Beyng sway?”.
These books point to the metaphysical assumptions that made Western culture possible; culture that started with the Greeks, passed through Christianity, German Idealism, and ended in the current technological setting and nihilism. Not just that, but the hints of this abandonment of beings by Being - as manifested in our modern technological world - were present in how Parmenides, Heraclitus, Plato and Aristotle understood Being and consequently constituted the first beginning. Christianity, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and so on along with their metaphysical understanding of Being followed almost inevitably from this Greek and partially flawed start. Heidegger believes that a new beginning is needed and here he is doing his part in pointing to this history of Being, the Event, and the Mindfulness required for this transition/leap. A last god is needed to save us - and all that we can do is make room for him, be ready for when he will pass by, be mindful, and wait for him in silence; or else he will fly away.
A lot of people are dismissing these books as poetical and aphoristic non-sense, or at best as a failed project. “Being and Time” is relatively easy to follow because it is partially embedded in metaphysics - as Heidegger himself acknowledged - and bridges can be followed from the known and familiar to the unknown and strange. Moreover, Heidegger wrote “Being and Time” with a public in mind; but not here, since he wrote these books just for himself. Additionally, we must remember that Heidegger mastered the entire philosophical tradition from the early Greeks to Nietzsche and he knew that what made possible all these thinkers is not easily expressed in common and metaphysical language, and definitely is not up for public debate. With “A Retrospective Look at the Pathway” at the end of this book, Heidegger places this book along with others into his pathway of thinking between 1913 and 1938.
All his previous works up to this point - including “Being and Time” - are retrospectively denounced here as metaphysically speaking and presenting; even if Heidegger claims that his thinking in them was not metaphysical. Then there was the fiasco of his political involvement with the Nazi and his failure as rector. Later in his “Ponderings”, he claims that around 1933 he was not able to fully realize what “God is dead” meant in terms of metaphysics and political action; hence his political mistakes.
In this book Heidegger is purifying himself of the last traces of metaphysics in his thinking, speaking, and action. It started with “Contributions to Philosophy (of the Event)”. “Mindfulness” followed along with several other books. “Contributions” is the main one, while “Mindfulness” follows closely in importance. “Contributions” goes deeper, but it is rather schematic; while this one develops its arguments at length. The depths of thinking and insights in these books are mind-blowing and shocking. The style of writing is like nothing before them. The thinking and writing here are no longer bounded by traditional ontology, philosophy, language, logic, standard arguments, methodologies, and so on. Heidegger starts and stays with Beyng; as the inquire it is no longer about “what are beings?“, but about “how does Beyng sway?”.
These books point to the metaphysical assumptions that made Western culture possible; culture that started with the Greeks, passed through Christianity, German Idealism, and ended in the current technological setting and nihilism. Not just that, but the hints of this abandonment of beings by Being - as manifested in our modern technological world - were present in how Parmenides, Heraclitus, Plato and Aristotle understood Being and consequently constituted the first beginning. Christianity, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and so on along with their metaphysical understanding of Being followed almost inevitably from this Greek and partially flawed start. Heidegger believes that a new beginning is needed and here he is doing his part in pointing to this history of Being, the Event, and the Mindfulness required for this transition/leap. A last god is needed to save us - and all that we can do is make room for him, be ready for when he will pass by, be mindful, and wait for him in silence; or else he will fly away.
A lot of people are dismissing these books as poetical and aphoristic non-sense, or at best as a failed project. “Being and Time” is relatively easy to follow because it is partially embedded in metaphysics - as Heidegger himself acknowledged - and bridges can be followed from the known and familiar to the unknown and strange. Moreover, Heidegger wrote “Being and Time” with a public in mind; but not here, since he wrote these books just for himself. Additionally, we must remember that Heidegger mastered the entire philosophical tradition from the early Greeks to Nietzsche and he knew that what made possible all these thinkers is not easily expressed in common and metaphysical language, and definitely is not up for public debate. With “A Retrospective Look at the Pathway” at the end of this book, Heidegger places this book along with others into his pathway of thinking between 1913 and 1938.
November 14, 2007
This is where Heidegger really starts to make sense. If you've read it, that may sound like a really counter-intuitive statement, as he's never more linguistically obscure, but if you just roll around with it for a while, pure genius, and never more relevant than now.
February 12, 2015
Very powerful stuff. Mindfulness, along with Contributions, is one of the bedrocks of Heidegger's late thought and hands-down among the most fascinating and difficult philosophical works I've grappled with. This volume is an insanely demanding read and the event horizon with regard to Heidegger's neologisms and technical terms. At this level, it's not hard to see why even serious philosophers dismiss his thought as impenetrable or just terrible poetry.
Despite all that, the deeper contours of Heidegger's ontological difference really come into focus here. He explores how Being unfolds historically as an event whereby Dasein's capacity for sense-making is appropriated by Being such that beings are disclosed, or unconcealed, through Dasein within these specific patterns of sense-making or intelligibility.
For the Big H, Being essentially occurs as a two-fold unity of presence and absence bound in time, whereby Dasein reveals beings within patterns of sense-making as alternative fields of intelligibility are necessarily concealed. Thus the foundational metaphysical riddle of "why is there something rather than nothing?" becomes an incorrect question that assumes a preeminence of beings as presence over the unfolding of Being: for Heidgger, the nothing is Being. Deep stuff and a guaranteed brain-bender for anyone willing to swim out past the breakers in the weird waters of Heidegger's phenomenology.
Despite all that, the deeper contours of Heidegger's ontological difference really come into focus here. He explores how Being unfolds historically as an event whereby Dasein's capacity for sense-making is appropriated by Being such that beings are disclosed, or unconcealed, through Dasein within these specific patterns of sense-making or intelligibility.
For the Big H, Being essentially occurs as a two-fold unity of presence and absence bound in time, whereby Dasein reveals beings within patterns of sense-making as alternative fields of intelligibility are necessarily concealed. Thus the foundational metaphysical riddle of "why is there something rather than nothing?" becomes an incorrect question that assumes a preeminence of beings as presence over the unfolding of Being: for Heidgger, the nothing is Being. Deep stuff and a guaranteed brain-bender for anyone willing to swim out past the breakers in the weird waters of Heidegger's phenomenology.
October 5, 2025
'Be-ing sways solely in the clearing which is be-ing itself. But this clearing remains sustainable only in a projecting-opening that throws itself unto the opening of this clearing and "owns itself over" to the openness of this opening and ventures to ground it. This grounding projecting-opening en-thinks the truth of be-ing and—however different and contrary this may seem—is thereby nonetheless en-owned only by be-ing itself.' (38-9)
'Because philosophy says be-ing and is, therefore, only as word in word, and because its word never merely means or designates what is to be said but precisely in saying is be-ing itself,
philosophy might hurriedly try to cross directly over into poetry as help in need and especially as receptacle. And yet this always remains an entanglement at the roots of what is of equal rank to philosophy and which on account of its ownmost sways by itself, and from time immemorial incessantly avoids the thinking of be-ing. For, the ownmost of poetry also grounds history but differently; poetry's "times" do not coincide with those of thinking.' (39)
This grounding projecting-opening en-thinks the truth of be-ing and—however different and contrary this may seem—is thereby nonetheless en-owned only by be-ing itself.' (38-9)
'Be-ing does not give away its swaying to beings, but fulfills this swaying as itself and thus lights itself up as the ab-ground, wherein, on the same plane, that which man calls beings may tower, may fall away and may linger.' (72)
'Whence comes the decision that is to be made between the preeminence of beings and the grounding of the truth of be-ing? It comes only from be-ing, out of the manner in which be-ing refuses and gifts itself. Be-ing itself is the en-owning of this decision and its "free play of time-space".
Be-ing is more originary than the mystery of the earth, more worlding than the inaugurated world, more swaying than god, and more grounding than man, and yet ""only"" the moment of the "in-between" for "beings in the whole".' (73)
'Because philosophy says be-ing and is, therefore, only as word in word, and because its word never merely means or designates what is to be said but precisely in saying is be-ing itself,
philosophy might hurriedly try to cross directly over into poetry as help in need and especially as receptacle. And yet this always remains an entanglement at the roots of what is of equal rank to philosophy and which on account of its ownmost sways by itself, and from time immemorial incessantly avoids the thinking of be-ing. For, the ownmost of poetry also grounds history but differently; poetry's "times" do not coincide with those of thinking.' (39)
This grounding projecting-opening en-thinks the truth of be-ing and—however different and contrary this may seem—is thereby nonetheless en-owned only by be-ing itself.' (38-9)
'Be-ing does not give away its swaying to beings, but fulfills this swaying as itself and thus lights itself up as the ab-ground, wherein, on the same plane, that which man calls beings may tower, may fall away and may linger.' (72)
'Whence comes the decision that is to be made between the preeminence of beings and the grounding of the truth of be-ing? It comes only from be-ing, out of the manner in which be-ing refuses and gifts itself. Be-ing itself is the en-owning of this decision and its "free play of time-space".
Be-ing is more originary than the mystery of the earth, more worlding than the inaugurated world, more swaying than god, and more grounding than man, and yet ""only"" the moment of the "in-between" for "beings in the whole".' (73)
February 28, 2018
A bit clearer than the Beiträge, if you've read the Beiträge. Here he more often elaborates the point of his 'seynsgeschichtliches Denken', whereas the Beiträge is crucial as a more programmatic work. The two of these make an excellent pair to try and get a grasp on the 'later Heidegger' (but not quite the esoteric late-late Heidegger) and how it relates to 'early Heidegger' - I take the point to be still just the same thing honestly (don't care much for these distinctions).
Read
April 6, 2020One of those short Heideggerian books i re-read once a year for several years. I even read it upside down and backwards. Don't ask, just read.
September 27, 2023
As this is Heidegger, the fact that the structure is scrambled immensely benefits how this book is put together. One is incentivised to read the work directly and brutally. The idea of a connected mechanism that explains everything is absent. So, what does Heidegger mean by beingness, what by be-ing, what by ab-grund? It is this mode of poetic reading using which I have achieved my best success reading Heidegger. This, perhaps rather than Being and Time, is therefore the place I recommend to start from.
Currently Reading
February 18, 2012Truth as clearing, as uncoveredness, as Heidegger calls it as opposed to propositional truth. I found very alluring vision in this. So I bought the book after returning to it on the shelves of Borders, York. Marked it in my mind to read.
unfinished
March 24, 2010This, along with Metaphysics and Being and Time, is one of the most difficult books I've encountered by Heidegger.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews