Martin Heidegger

Heidegger's philosophical journal, written during his first visit to Greece in 1962, and appearing here in English for the first time.

The Journey to Greece

Sojourns

Donald

I just read this little book after spying it while randomly browsing the shelves at Van Pelt Library, where I'm reminded every week about how important it is to have access to a good library. Believe it or not, this is the first book by Heidegger I've ever read. A bizarre starting place for sure...

This is a brief account of Heidegger's trip to Greece in 1962. Greek philosophy and poetry are Heidegger's overwhelming concerns, so his first journey to the place that gave birth to the ideas that shaped his life is quite pregnant. It's a fearful and anxious journey because Heidegger confesses his might find that the journey to Greece - "its earth, its sky, its sea, its islands, the abandoned temples and sacred theaters" - might reveal that he's been mistaken about everything. A sobering thought for a philosopher nearing the end of his life...

Heidegger begins with a fragment from Hölderlin's beautiful poem "Bread and Wine":
But the thrones, where are they? Where are the temples, the vessels,
Where, to delight the gods, brim-full with nectar, the songs?
Where, then, where do they shine, the oracles winged for far targets?
Delphi's asleep, and where now is great fate to be heard?
Hölderlin, the great translator of Pindar, never saw Greece, which is bizarre. One gets the impression that Heidegger seeks to vindicate both himself and Hölderlin on this trip, and he does...

The book is also a meditation on the possibility of a sojourn in a world dominated by technology. Remember, this is 1962. One can only imagine the conclusion such a meditation would come to today.

(But if you ask me, a sojourn is still possible. The simple act of not owning a cell-phone opens a surprising amount of space, in every sense of the word. I don't know another person who doesn't have a cell-phone - even among the elderly! - but I really recommend it.)

Sojourns The Journey to Greece

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