Introduction to Philosophy -- Thinking and Poetizing

Introduction: Introduction to Philosophy as a Guide to Genuine Thinking through the Thinker Nietzsche and the Poet Hölderlin

Introduction Introduction to Philosophy as a Guide to Genuine Thinking1 through the Thinker Nietzsche and the Poet Hölderlin§1. The Impossibility of an Intro-duction to Philosophy Whoever plans an “introduction to Philosophy” [»Einleitung in die Philosophie«] presupposes that those who are to be introduced to philosophy stand initially outside of it. Philosophy itself thus counts as an area somewhere that consists of knowledge and principles, which many people might bypass throughout their lives and from which they might thus remain closed off. Although this notion of philosophy is widespread , it misses the essence of philosophy insofar as there is no such outside—separated from the human essence—that could constitute the abode of philosophy where humans would first need to proceed in order to be in philosophy. In truth, historical humans always already stand within philosophy because they do so essentially. Therefore, strictly thought, there is no “intro-duction” [»Ein-leitung«] to philosophy . But how are historical humans in philosophy? It is definitely not merely by the fact that humans make use of philosophical knowledge that is handed down from somewhere. Historical humans think [denkt an] of the origin and future from out of these, respectively. From the horizon of such reflec1 . [To avoid an explicit connection to Being and Time’s analysis of authenticity and inauthenticity, I have translated eigentlich as “genuine” in an attempt to convey the sense of the word as what is “real” or “actual.”—Trans.] 1 tion [Andenkens], humans always think what is present. Insofar as historical humans think what has been, what comes, and what is present, they think beings as a whole according to all ways of being. If humans think that which is—and they think this constantly in some way—then humans also think and have always already thought what has been and what will come. Thinking in this way, humans already move everywhere within this thinking, which has been called “philosophy” since antiquity. As reflective humans, humans “philosophize.” By moving within such thinking, humans sojourn in the region of what remains to-be-thought [Zu-denkende] for this thinking. What is to-be-thought and also, somehow, always already what has been thought [Gedachte] is the realm of the sojourn for humans insofar as they philosophize. This realm of the sojourn is philosophy. We believe we know in which realm and space buildings stand and in which realm the trees grow. We barely think about which realm philosophy, thinking, is in and in which realm art is, and what they are. We do not even think about the fact that philosophy and art could themselves in each case be the realms of the sojourn of the human. We are now saying: historical humans are already in philosophy . Humans no longer need to be introduced to philosophy. They cannot just be lead at one point into philosophy nor can they be placed into philosophy from somewhere else. But if this is true, then all humans are “philosophers,” or, as we also like to say, “thinkers.” In a certain way, that is what they are. The human among all beings is that being that thinks. The human is the thinking being. Therefore and only therefore can and must there be thinking ones in a distinguished sense among humans, which we call “the thinkers.” Therefore and simply for this reason , there is also thoughtlessness only among humans, which continually has its root in a loss of reflection [Besinnunglosigkeit].§2. The Need for a Guide to Become at Home in Genuine Thinking According to what was said, philosophizing is thinking, and all thinking is already, somehow, a philosophizing. Philosophy be2 Introduction to Philosophy [90–92] longs, in a way that remains to be determined more closely, to that region itself within which the human as the reflectivethinking being [das andenkend-denkende Wesen] sojourns. Yet humans can truly be at home or not at home in this place where they sojourn according to their essence. Dwelling [Wohnen] is what we call the native sojourning in the realms in which the human belongs. In this way, to be sure, historical humans continually sojourn in philosophy, but are only rarely at home in it. They do not dwell in it. Therefore, there is need of a guide [Anleitung ] to become at home in philosophy. Through this guiding, our thinking, which is not always at home [zuhause] in what is its most own, learns...