The Event

Translator’s Introduction

Translator’s Introduction This is a translation of Martin Heidegger’s Das Ereignis. The German original was composed in 1941–42 and was published posthumously in 2009 as volume 71 of the author’s Gesamtausgabe (“Complete Edition ”). The book is the sixth in a series of seven reflections inaugurated by the decisive Contributions to Philosophy (Of the Event). At the heart of all these reflections is what Heidegger calls “the event,” and the title of the present volume thus indicates its close connection to Contributions and its centrality to Heidegger’s path of thinking. As with the other members of the series, the current volume fits within the third division of the Gesamtausgabe: “Unpublished treatises : addresses—ponderings.” The operative words here are “unpublished ” and “ponderings.” This is not a polished treatise, composed with didactic intent. It is a private pondering, never intended for publication . Thus, with regard to form, the book is replete with the partial sentences and cryptic passages that could be expected when thinkers write for themselves. Moreover, as to content, the pondering stems from a view of pondering or thinking radically at odds with the traditional understanding of these as representation in concepts . For Heidegger, our ordinary calculative, grasping (con-ceptual ) way of thinking actually leads to thoughtlessness. Accordingly, “Today thinking must think in a startling way so as to jolt humans for the very first time into the passion of thinking” (§274). We are here privileged to look over Heidegger’s shoulder as he takes up his pen in this startling way, although—in view of both form and content —no one should expect the going to be easy. My general strategy in translating this book was the same as that employed with regard to Contributions: to capture in English the effect the original would have on a native speaker of German. Therefore I made no attempt to resolve the grammatical peculiarities, nor did I impose on Heidegger’s terminology the extraordinary sense the ordinary words (such as “event”) do eventually assume. This translation is meant to hold that sense open to readers and to invite them into the task of disclosure, but it is ultimately incumbent on the reader himself or herself to decide what that sense is. I have kept my interpolations to a minimum, and these are always placed within brackets. Braces ({}) are reserved for remarks by the editor. I have compiled German–English and English–German glossaries for the central vocabulary of the book. Heidegger does appeal here not infrequently to Greek terms, but he almost invariably provides his own translation in the text, so I did not think a glossary of these terms necessary. As a final aid to anyone desiring to read this English version closely in conjunction with the original, the running heads indicate the Gesamtausgabe pagination. Richard Rojcewicz xx Translators’ Introduction ...