Martin Heidegger, a German philosopher whose work is pivotal in 20th-century existentialism and phenomenology, offers a profound critique of the Western philosophical tradition, particularly in its reliance on reason and logic. His statement, "Thinking begins only when we have come to know that reason, glorified for centuries, is the stiff-necked adversary of thought," encapsulates his belief in the limitations of traditional conceptions of reason and the need for a different kind of thinking.
Heidegger's philosophy suggests that the type of thinking that has dominated Western thought since the time of Plato and Aristotle, which he refers to as metaphysical thinking, is too rigid and narrow. This mode of thinking is preoccupied with categorization, abstraction, and a search for a stable, unchanging foundation of truth. Heidegger believes that this pursuit has led to a forgetfulness of Being, which is the fundamental question of philosophy.
In Heidegger's view, true thinking is meditative or contemplative, engaging with the reality of existence in a way that goes beyond the confines of rationality and calculative thought. He argues that reason often seeks to control or dominate the subject of its inquiry, reducing it to terms that can be easily manipulated and understood. This, however, alienates us from a more original way of engaging with the world—one that appreciates the mystery, complexity, and interrelatedness of things.
For Heidegger, the glorification of reason can lead to a form of blindness where the only things acknowledged are those that can be measured, quantified, or logically deduced. This overlooks the richness of human experience and the deeper questions about our existence, such as the meaning of Being, which cannot be fully captured by rational analysis.
Instead, Heidegger proposes a return to a more fundamental form of thinking that he often associates with the pre-Socratic Greek philosophers, who contemplated the nature of existence without the formal structure of logic and theory that later came to dominate philosophy. This kind of thinking, according to Heidegger, is open to the revealing of Being, to the way things present themselves in their own terms, and to the unfolding of truth as something that cannot be fully grasped or contained by human understanding.
Heidegger's focus on the limitations of reason is a radical call to reconceive not only philosophy but also our everyday engagement with the world. It suggests that to truly think, we must be willing to encounter the world with openness, to recognize the limitations of our knowledge, and to embrace the profound mystery at the heart of existence. He encourages a form of thought that is receptive and responsive, a thinking that is an ongoing, never-complete process of discovery and wonder.
In essence, Martin Heidegger's critique of reason and his call for a new kind of thinking is about recognizing and respecting the depth and complexity of being in the world. It is a reminder that our traditional modes of thought, while valuable, are not sufficient to engage with the fullness of reality, and that true thinking requires a humility and an openness to the unknown.
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