‘Destruction’ (Destruktion) of Medieval Ontology in Heidegger’s The Basic. Problems of Phenomenology (1927) Cover Image

Viduramžių Ontologijos „Destrukcija“ (Destruktion) Heideggerio Paskaitose Pamatinės Fenomenologijos Problemos (1927)
‘Destruction’ (Destruktion) of Medieval Ontology in Heidegger’s The Basic. Problems of Phenomenology (1927)

Author(s): Povilas Aleksandravičius
Subject(s): Metaphysics, Epistemology, Philosophy of Middle Ages, Phenomenology, Ontology
Published by: Visuomeninė organizacija »LOGOS«
Keywords: Heidegger; Thomas Aquinas; Suárez; ontology; essentia-existentia; Dasein productive behaviour;

Summary/Abstract: The article provides a detailed analysis of the portion of Heidegger’s lecture cycle The Basic Problems of Phenomenology (1927) that is dedicated to medieval ontology. In his approach to three authors – Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus and Suárez – Heidegger interprets this ontology as a logical extension of the Greek metaphysics of being (Plato, Aristotle) and so merely exemplifying the global ‘fall’ of Western thought. The thinking of the German philosopher is concentrated around the famous essentia-existentia disjunction, the scrutiny of which explains all the basic concepts of medieval metaphysics. Such an explanation enables Heidegger to insert Scholastic ontology into his existential analytic and understand the former as the expression of productive behaviour of Dasein (being-here) – all of which qualifies medieval philosophy as inconsistent as regards the inquiry of being. The present article, however, points out some important weaknesses in Heidegger’s interpretation: the philosopher failed to understand the originality in Thomas Aquinas’ metaphysical thought, which derives from actus essendi, the core concept of the latter. The article is brought to conclusion with the definition of a potential interface between the philosophies of Thomas Aquinas and Heidegger, embracing the concepts of being and time.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 62
  • Page Range: 90-101
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Lithuanian