A critique of Heidegger's critique of Christian philosophy in the Introduction to Metaphysics

Martin Heidegger argues against the possibility of Christian philosophy in his Introduction to Metaphysics. Christians, Heidegger tells us, cannot authentically ask the fundamental question of philosophy - ‘Why are there beings at all rather than nothing?' - because they already suppose that th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Trabbic, Joseph G. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Cambridge Univ. Press [2017]
In: Religious studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 53, Issue: 1, Pages: 71-86
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Heidegger, Martin 1889-1976, Einführung in die Metaphysik / Christian philosophy / Criticism
IxTheo Classification:CA Christianity
VA Philosophy
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
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Summary:Martin Heidegger argues against the possibility of Christian philosophy in his Introduction to Metaphysics. Christians, Heidegger tells us, cannot authentically ask the fundamental question of philosophy - ‘Why are there beings at all rather than nothing?' - because they already suppose that they have an answer to this question in their Creator-God. Moreover, Christianity, says Heidegger, takes philosophy to be foolishness and, thus, would never try to answer its questions in the first place. Finally, Heidegger insists that any thoughtful questioning in a Christian context is theology and not philosophy. I argue that none of these reasons for rejecting Christian philosophy ultimately holds up. I also criticize an interpretation of Heidegger on this topic proposed by Walter Kaufmann.
ISSN:1469-901X
Contains:Enthalten in: Religious studies
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/S0034412515000505