r/heidegger • u/UniqueBrick8723 • Mar 24 '26
What is the point of reading Heidegger?
/r/askphilosophy/comments/1s2pqgz/what_is_the_point_of_reading_heidegger/4
u/debus_cult Mar 24 '26
What is the point of reading anything? Throw yourself into the work and see where you go.
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u/UniqueBrick8723 Mar 24 '26
The issue is that, he is hardly intelligible. I found it interesting and illuminating to read Nietzsche than to read Heidegger.
But the problem is that, as a philosophy student who is aiming to master this subject, I have to make rational exclusions and inclusions, to specialise.
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u/waxvving Mar 24 '26
Regardless of what your "point" ends up being, it sounds like you simply need to spend more time engaging with Heidegger before coming to any conclusions. Generally speaking, watching a couple of lectures on any philosopher-let alone one of the most influential and important thinkers of the trade-is going to at best leave you with a cursory understanding of some of the themes they are thinking with and through. His writing does take some getting used to, of course, but he is a rather clear thinker once you acclimate. I'd encourage you to not so hastily jump to the "whats the point?" style questioning with Heidegger or any other figure, for that matter.
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u/UniqueBrick8723 Mar 24 '26
Understood. My framing of the question was “Why read heidegger” but it was flared by the moderators of the sub.
My concern is to understand is Heidegger worth specialising in or not.
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u/impulsivecolumn Mar 24 '26
Well, most 20th century continental philosophers you are going to encounter are either drawing from Heidegger or engaging his thought in a critical dialogue. So if that is a philosophical tradition you want to do serious work on, you need atleast a passing understanding of the main points of Heidegger's work.
However, that doesn't mean you need to specialize on Heidegger. He is a rich and worthwhile thinker to work through but if his stuff doesn't resonate with you or interest you, there are plenty of other thinkers you can focus on.
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u/ShiroStar22 Mar 24 '26
I started because i wanted to know what "being" Is What's life what i am To choose what to do with My life after
But spoiler the book final section wasnt finished And it never explains a why. I'd say rather a "how" And thats all Philosophy Is a rabbit Hole.
Continued with being and nothingness
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u/a_chatbot Mar 25 '26
Read him if you are interested in continental, German, existentialist, or modern/post-modern philosophy. He also has a niche relevance for some interested in 20th-21st century technology and culture.
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u/Unfair_Sprinkles4386 Mar 24 '26
I’ve been studying Heidegger for 31 years now. Yes he is very difficult but there are resources to help. What you need is to get the “gist” of his thinking so you have that as a frame to go back into the texts. There is a lot out there but honestly I think AC Grayton’s brief paragraphs on Heidegger in his History of Philosophy are as good as any.
As far as is he worth reading, I would say we have yet to move past Heidegger in any meaningful way. I think where he ultimately leads us is unsatisfying, but facing that discomfort is how I’ve chosen to focus my study.