Rahner and Heidegger: Being, Hearing, and God

RAHNER AND HEIDEGGER: BEING, HEARING, AND GOD TIIMMEDIATE GOAL of this essay is to delimit e essential difference between Rahner's philosophy religion and Heidegger's philosophy of Being. Why is it necessary to establish the ground of disagreement between these thinkers? For one thing, it has been claimed by some that Heidegger's philosophy has had a profound effect on Rahner's thought. Louis Roberts, for example, has maintained "that Heidegger's influence on Rahner is nearly as great as Marechal's." 1 Rahner himself suggests that "perhaps Dr. Roberts overestimates this . . . influence somewhat." 2 In any case, it will be maintained here that any valid interpretation of the influence of Heidegger on Rahner must take into account the fundamental difference between them. It will be maintained that this difference is at the level of the most basic questions which each poses and therefore has ramifications which go beyond mere methodological differences. This is not intended to be a refutation to the claim that Heidegger has influenced Rahner, for he certainly has. It is merely hoped that the delimitation of the fundamental difference between their thought will make it possible to assess most accurately how the one has influenced the other. This essay, however, will not attempt such an assessment, nor will it attempt a point by point comparison of Rahner's philosophy with Heidegger 's. A second reason for delimiting the difference between their philosophies has to do with the relation of Heidegger's thought to Thomistic philosophy, and more generally to metaphysics. It is hoped that the investigation will clarify quite emphatically 1 Louis Roberts, The Achievement of Karl Rahner (New York, 1967), p. 17. • Karl Rahner, "Forward" to The Achievement of Karl Rahner, p. viii. 455 456 ROBERT MASSON the fundamental differences which underlie any apparent similarities between Heidegger's perspective on the question of being and the metaphysician's perspective. The alleged influence of Heidegger on Rahner is evident, in part, in the notion of "hearing" or "attending" (horen) which plays a central role in the thought of both. In Hearers of the Word Rahner definies man as essentially a potential hearer of a word from God. The philosophy of religion must prepare for this hearing by demonstrating metaphysically that man has this potentiality. Consequently, Rahner defines theology (theology in the "positive" and fundamental sense as the reception of Revelation and not in the sense of its elaboration) as a "hearing." Theology is fundamentally the " hearing " either of an historical word from God or of his silence.3 Similarly, Heidegger's philosophy of Being could be defined as a type of thinking which is essentially a " hearing," or better an " attending," but as will be shown, a very different kind of hearing than is developed in Rahner's thought. More fundamental for both thinkers than the notion of hearing, however, is the notion of " being." Rahner argues metaphysically to the notion of man as " hearer of the word " from man's Vorgriff (pre-comprehension) of being. Similarly, Heidegger's notion of man as a hearer is developed in his attempt to think the meaning of Sein (Being) .4 The difference between the notion of hearing in these two philosophies is ultimately grounded in the difference in the question of being posed by each. Fundamentally, therefore, this essay is concerned with the issue of being as it is developed in Rahner's transcendental Thomism and Heidegger's philosophy of Being. It is necessary to make explicit several further restrictions of our topic. Since the essay is concerned with the point of difference between Rahner and Heidegger, and since the volume "Karl Rahner, Hearers of the Word, trans. Michael Richards (New Ym-k, 1968), pp. 10-11. Hereafter: HW. • For reasons which will become apparent Heidegger's Sein is translated here as Being (capital B). Rahner's Sein which for him is equivalent to esse is translated as being (small b). RAHNER AND HEIDEGGER 451 and complexity of Heidegger's reflection on Being are so extensive , no attempt will be made here to give a balanced or comprehensive presentation of Heidegger's thought in itself. The primary focus of attention will be determined by the presentation of...