The 23 best quotes by Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was one of the most important philosophers of the 20th century, and one of the most relevant in the German language. His contributions to existentialism, hermeneutics and phenomenology make him a reference philosopher in these fields. Today we compile the best phrases by Martin Heidegger and accompany them with interesting details about his life and work.

The controversy surrounding the German thinker has helped maintain interest in his books. Certainly, Heidegger openly campaigned and supported Nazism, so debates still arise about the Nazism present in his philosophy.

The best quotes by Martin Heidegger

Between many other things, Heidegger is known for shaping the concept of Dasein. The German term is not easy to translate into other languages, although it is most often done as existence, presence either to be there.

Let’s look at the best phrases by Martin Heidegger that, although not directly related to his philosophy, allow us to glimpse a glimpse of his ideas.

1. “Tell me how to read and I will tell you who you are.”

Heidegger was born on September 26, 1889 and died on May 26, 1976 at the age of 86.

Since 2013, several installments of his Black Notebooks have appeared, personal writings that have contributed to further exploring the details of his thinking.

2. “If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it directly, I will be free from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life, and only then will I be free to become myself.”

He studied theology at the University of Freiburg, although he would later focus his studies on philosophy. In 1914, he presented his doctoral thesis, greatly influenced by neo-Kantianism and neo-Thomism.

3. “The most stimulating thing in our time of reflection is that we are not yet thinking.”

Like thousands of Germans, Heidegger served as a soldier in the First World War. He did it, as recorded in his writings, the last 10 months of the war.

4. “Man acts as if he were the trainer and teacher of language, while language remains man’s teacher.”

In 1923, the German author obtained the professorship of philosophy at the University of Marburg. Among some of his most notable students at that university was Hannah Arendt.

5. “Every man is born as many men and dies as one.”

In 1927 he published what is considered his seminal work: Being and time. A year later, when Husserl retired as professor of philosophy at the University of Freiburg, he took over as a substitute at that university. He would remain in it until the end.

6. “Longing is the agony of the closeness of the distant.”

On April 21, 1933, Heidegger was elected rector of the university. A few days later, on May 1, he would join the Nazi party and openly join it.

7. “The possible is above the real.”

In November of that same year, he signed the Vote of loyalty by teachers of German universities and secondary schools to Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist State. He would resign his position as rector in April 1934, although he would continue to be active in the party until the end.

8. “He who has great thoughts often makes big mistakes.”

In the black notebooks The author’s personal notes are described in relation to this turbulent time. Their analysis reflects a metaphysical anti-Semitism, although not so much a biological or racial one.

9. “The truth is what makes a people true, clear and strong.”

During the first years after World War II there was controversy over whether Heidegger would be allowed to teach at the university. In 1949, he was listed as mitläuferso a year later he began teaching at the University of Freiburg again.

10. “The human being is not the lord of beings, but the shepherd of being.”

In addition to Being and time (1927), other of his most read works are Introduction to metaphysics (1935), Contributions to philosophyto (1936-1938), Identity and difference (1955-1957) and On the way to language (1959).

11. “There is no such thing as an empty word, only one that is worn out, but remains full.”

Heidegger married Elfride Petri on March 21, 1917 in a Catholic ceremony and, a week later, in a Protestant ceremony.

12. “Man dies constantly until the moment of his death.”

Their first son, Jörg, was born in 1919. In August 1920, Petri gave birth to Hermann, who, despite not being Heidegger’s biological son, was raised as such by Heidegger.

13. “He who never says anything cannot remain silent at any given moment.”

He had a romantic relationship with Hannah Arendt and Elisabeth Blochmann, both top students in his classes.

14. “What is great can only begin great.”

The German author was influenced by different thinkers throughout history: Parmenides, Heraclitus, Plato, Aristotle, Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas, Luther, Kierkegaard, Dilthey, Nietzsche and Husserl, just to mention a few.

15. “Language is the house of being.”

The justifications and unfortunate comments of the author, after the fall of Nazism, did nothing to calm the waters of his relationship with the movement.

16. “Everywhere we remain unfree and chained to technology, whether we passionately affirm it or deny it.”

One of the author’s most memorable interviews was the one he gave to Der Spiegel in September 1966. In it he spoke openly about his political past.

17. “Being a rational animal, man must be able to think if he really wants to. Still, it may be that the man wants to think, but he cannot.

Although he is a philosopher who has influenced thinkers around the world, in France he has had a particular reception. Great thinkers such as Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Jean Paul Sartre were directly influenced by him.

18. “As soon as we are born we are old enough to die.”

As it could not be otherwise, his thinking has been the subject of criticism. Among many others by Bertrand Russell, Rudolf Carnap, Roger Scruton, Herbert Marcuse and Theodor Adorno.

Heidegger maintains that humans maintain a resounding relationship of co-belonging with their being.

19. “Nothing is all that happens at this very moment.”

His thoughts have served as inspiration for several film productions. For example, The Ister (2004) and the short film Die Entnazifizierung des MH (2006).

20. “We never get to the thoughts. “They come to us.”

Heidegger was buried in the Meβkirch cemetery, in a Christian ceremony officiated by Bernhard Welte.

21. “Talking a lot about something does not in the least guarantee that understanding will be promoted. On the contrary, talking a lot about something brings what is understood to an illusory clarity, that is, to an unintelligibility of the trivial.”

The German philosopher was a fan of skiing, wines and hiking excursions.

22. “Each of us is what we pursue and care for.”

He spent a lot of time isolated in his holiday home on the edge of the Black Forest. He believed that this proximity to the forest, far from the city, was conducive to his philosophical activity.

23. “We do not have any clear, common and simple relationship with reality and with ourselves. That is the big problem of the Western world.”

We end this list of phrases by Martin Heidegger with these words in relation to the West. Some that are undoubtedly more valid than ever.

What did you think of this selection of phrases by Martin Heidegger, accompanied by curiosities about his life and work? Be sure to reread his books and understand them in their context, as well as the analyzes that experts make in relation to his thoughts.

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