Philosophers

Was Heidegger and atheist? I only ask because I get very conflicting statements regarding his stance on theism.

Comments

Good question! There is actually quite a bit of controversy over Heidegger's position, and some decent books address this. See, for example:

http://www.amazon.com/Heideggers-Atheism-Refusal-Theological-Voice/dp/02...

In Being and Time, it seems as though the existence or non-existence of God is not relevant to the way Heidegger conceives of his project, though there is a fascinating remark about divine being and primordial temporality in a footnote. I don't pretend to be able to unpack that for you, however! His later work, some of which has only recently been published in English translation contains far more of an engagement with God than many scholars anticipated. If Heidegger did, in the end, accept some concept of God, it is doubtful that this would be along classical theistic lines, but perhaps more in line with the Protestant theologian Paul Tillich's notion of God as the ground of being. While Tillich remained a self-identified Christian, he seemed more enthralled with what might be called the God beyond God, that is, beyond theism. Jean Luc Marion takes up a related view in his concept of God beyond being. You might find interesting a highly influential thinker who was atheistic, deeply influenced by Heidegger but who also (near the end of his life) sought to positively engage religion, Jacgue Derrida. One of Derrida's friends and a champion of his views (but not without criticism) is John Caputo. Caputo broke with Heidegger, however, largely on ethical grounds. Caputo authored a devistating critique of Heidegger which argued that Heidegger's membership in the Nazi party was deeply part of his early philosophy of authenticity, and those who seek to protect Heidegger from his Nazi affiliation are misguided. Another case not unlike Heidegger of someone who appears atheistic but who still engages God (for him the key term is "traces of God") is Emmanuel Levinas.

Read another response by Charles Taliaferro

Read another response about Philosophers