"Letter on Humanism" (german: Über den Humanismus) refers to a famous letter written by
Martin Heidegger
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
in December 1946 in response to a series of questions by
Jean Beaufret
Jean Beaufret (; 22 May 1907, in Auzances7 August 1982, in Paris) was a French philosopher and Germanist tremendously influential in the reception of Martin Heidegger's work in France.
Life
After graduating from the École Normale Supérieure an ...
(10 November 1946) about the development of
French existentialism. Heidegger reworked the letter for publication in 1947. He distanced himself from
Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...
's position and
existentialism
Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and valu ...
in general in this letter.
Content
Heidegger responds to Sartre's famous address, ''
Existentialism is a Humanism
''Existentialism Is a Humanism'' (french: L'existentialisme est un humanisme) is a 1946 work by the philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, based on a lecture by the same name he gave at Club Maintenant in Paris, on 29 October 1945. In early translations, ...
,'' which employs modes of being in an attempt to ground his concept of freedom
ontologically
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality.
Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exis ...
by distinguishing between
being-in-itself Being-in-itself is the self-contained and fully realized being of objects. It is a term used in early 20th century continental philosophy, especially in the works of Martin Heidegger, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and the existentialists ...
and
being-for-itself. Sartre's existentialism is criticized in the letter:
Existentialism says existence precedes essence
The proposition that existence precedes essence (french: l'existence précède l'essence) is a central claim of existentialism, which reverses the traditional philosophical view that the essence (the nature) of a thing is more fundamental and im ...
. In this statement he is taking ''existentia'' and '' essentia'' according to their metaphysical meaning, which, from Plato's time on, has said that ''essentia'' precedes ''existentia''. Sartre reverses this statement. But the reversal of a metaphysical statement remains a metaphysical statement. With it, he stays with metaphysics, in oblivion of the truth of Being.
See also
*
Antihumanism
In social theory and philosophy, antihumanism or anti-humanism is a theory that is critical of traditional humanism, traditional ideas about humanity and the human condition. Central to antihumanism is the view that philosophical anthropology an ...
*
Existential humanism
Existential humanism is humanism that validates the human subject as struggling for self-knowledge and self-responsibility.
Concepts
Søren Kierkegaard suggested that the best use of our capacity for making choices is to freely choose to live a ...
References
External links
English Text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Letter on Humanism
Works by Martin Heidegger
1947 documents
1947 in philosophy
Humanism
Works about existentialism
Works about nihilism
Works about Jean-Paul Sartre