Martin Heidegger - Plato's Sophist

c~U5hshed b" h'm. FiNllr. in LN gt'IltlTffiofo:!S inlt) the GWl1tia. "'hich a", theln5eh'l"! qui'" parlicuLor 6lll(l.l wilhin tIw tOOtl 6\'1:1l. And lh.>1 is !he reason 6911\, ClInov, 'u,,1 oro'leiO\' a", OCI:""i"""ny id,""kal in """ning for AnslOll", but only in a fonn;sl Sl'fISO!: laket1 strictly, they a", t.lo.....J fo' parlieular reams 01 Bring, This conflttl"'lion "'ilh the ancil'11l! is, in all Ih"", wa)'5 Aristotle carries il {JUI, dilft:renl from the Platonic one, ~ince Aristotle already had a uni"OCll, ",,'rn jf nOI ,odical1y concrh'l'd, basis for lhe onlOlogkal mode of questioning. "CCluil'\'d O.00:; is,lor Cn. ·k onlological """'arch, the ,,'ar of;1otti'iS 10 lhe Sringofbt'lngs. Thisdoes not mean. oowc-'er, thai Gn.""" ontology is depmdl'nt On "logic";' "''' would first ha".. lo""k "'hal logic for th.. Greeks. and ""~ mal' no! impure to Ihmt n>O\k'm cCln6a, lSl'l1£lo6uL Ptl'l1r/i"",'IOr. r! P""a'~ pfl'Mlurr. ,*"",;"" j"/tl 1M Otl'oI:>girtll

50fdr oJ an "mphatic ~nse lor them, .nd the). expl.1iOL'd beings out of beings. This is tilt: ~ of 1I,,~ir "t..mng stonO'S"; i.l'., they mon'll ....iwly in Ike dimC1\5ion of beings and dod rool.: aU mil!. into tke dimem;ion 0/ the Bring of bein~ t.) 0 j.lb, .hoe one. says: ,pia m /I"m /242 iU>I.I frun,m",,!> .. nUl .... hully u"... ,i"",.." ~t I""", ...·1 ....'" Uor. F..O Il"''ii.1Ing Itl"I tn"",tI,'Ul.u,,,,,,,",..,...,,...,J ....._or

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1-. ~ .... (1. 1IM;,;uch Ihe qUlSl"lln f fleing, I ....id f .... l",dili"",,1 int"'Pl'I'1alik d;,,/ogJJt, Tmay " ... ,,~t.- an "".""..hl.. ,...."m ttl met.• ""¥",;,,, anti loguc has. in all hasl~. bftn forgolll'n. This for~ing of lhe ",.. in quesli(>u is"oUy for US toda)'. For we (;In "pJ'f'a" cilher e>rplicill)' Or silmll)', tel two things: 1.) The ~ of IIdng i5 obvious e>'eryon,- U5o!S 'I roostanllr and undE1'Wlnds ..hal I\e means b~' il 2.) The cr>l:epl 01 fleing Is I~ higtw.",t: therefore il cannl" al all bdefinN, As 10 Ihe first we must ",,,,,uk IMI 'f'.'f'lS ""'~' be f"l'i"d und.... lhe rules that d"'~rml"e ~ dl.'flnilion. "'hich il!;(:11 Presl.'Ots onl,. or\(' fonn of delennitU>lion.. Ilw .....' origj""~ng in a C('rf~ln propos.itonal and a ~ 1 "logX.u The "log;"" of lhe determirolion of bt>ings ""'y!>01 ~ ;n,'O;.oo ;t5 tho!- cnlerion fo< lhe ",plication of Ilcing. Tl>erd'on! Ihe us"aJ lalk ~bc>u. lhe indefinabilily (l( IlI.'mg m~...ns IlOlhing. It merely man'fests lhe common rnisund"rsllmding 01 "'hat is ~I issu" \V'tth reg;>rd tel tho primal)' t.l$l< of any possible ClOloIg)', II mUSI be said f'O'iti"dy thaI il resides f>""Ciloslo the JX-Ible """,oing in any roncn>Ie

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'*' Gntsion of nothing. Or d5C\'PI of Being ,·""'u. beings. bu' lrol the whole cunsid"rahon f\I,," its routS(' in an ind,~ bet....""'" the onlkal al'ld the OIllOlogkal. And Ihis applies nol Oflly I""re bul ullimatt.-Iy 10 II\(' .....d of lho! d;"log~, SO IMI this unclarity, present In P\.JIO hirnst'lf, 'onoliNI"" III£' prnpp 01 the lat;>,d' ~~.:[e..~~ ~""'e1t' ~~·~·l·~~~_~~.:i~

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~~ti'!~~~i~a~' j·~Jl~:·is.~ l q . -~_ . d -. " ".'< I -',," c ~ s i." 8 9. ;:j!" 6":T~ "'::: _ ~ . . 00"'~:T =-:. e>tion r>oW is how ,,,'can b\o und,;>n;'ood.s I\UY. Tha, is. ~ncc lhe e>.p""",ion t».o" nO"' appli.... \0 the question is: in WMI liCfISt: isQv in the thd,~ the 6).0" is a rnndc of the lv. Ti lit; 16 Ow.., tttpov toil 0"'00; h'~ l'i tcrirt... ~ toUtll'; (d. 244dUf.l. "Is the liM'IV. in which ..... is "",anl--1). Ih.t whal sort of concl'J'l of li;..o" is \)ei"S US('(! h~re? In this regard, n.'i~ is flOW "'ad~ 10 a fragmml of tt... didaclloC 1'0'-'''' of I'annffikles himself:

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nW.'ToWv EU,.,;..;..o1l ooalpn; tvU).l"...~ov (;yo."lf/, llEooOOtv iOOltOli~ 1'''!I' '0 y(jp 0(,,,, 111'ci~"" outt 11 1\a,6ttpov !tcl.b'Ql XP£d a weli'roundIrons; "'I '" inda" th.~t," l~ the meaning of 6),ov in Pannenides. A,a tOloUtO" 6;..0,· it has 3 fl1o~ and ~n>. 6" is uniform, Now if1sofar as the 6Mn' has a "'iddle ""d "",,,,,,,illes,'t is SOlI..... thing Ihal .... sl'ljl~ (en. "parts." Th..sil isa mall.,.,.of an mhrely ",.nkular ... ho~, a whok which has parts. and this wholffieS6 eM bo;> .. nderstood 35 "nity in a special sense, 'Aut. Ilfl~ T6'1t: l'lJ'CP."\'b"',' Jt6:9o.; IJh- tOU 0-0.; l'):E'" bI, toldl. 61.0",,, olw" in th ~ of thl' I'QIlPI~". can then>/"", lid,... ~dtIotene16 of the one; in suo:h" 61.ov as I'fI'£PUJI.ll''Ov the lv is ill liOnlC Scr. This ,."Ii", ron.. hrefore t"\'en 'j't\"t:ings, and ""l's lhal infm.il..ly many difficulhe5 "'ill n",,' .""",.

Il\;l\"e "head) :0:.1 OOOf>' t\ltwl"m; 6Mo a"OIil',,' (246..1fO, "'The ones ~ ~ \V:I toU 60p6tou nUvICl &r earth, e>·~rythinll from hl':.:wen and "'\'('T}'lhing 'Ml CAnr\O' be.,...... with sensible eye. and dumsH~' grasp "'ilh ~ir hands for rocks and o.oks.~ They Ny: toUIO [;\'0" IlOvtw llldd or ba,.,;e.,dEo. or being lOUChed. t:nat".~ Only "'M' can be O'nC1lun'......-e! in It>is "'a}', CAn be gr;>$fXd. and can. as il "'~. be assaulted and IOtlched. genuinely is. W" could SIlyquile'briefly rn, this posi,ion wha' is is wM'.nROUnC.. ..""",,,n'~n.'is n-sis.. ~ is not. l1\,l, is how we are 10 und""''''nd this posi'ion. If we call U - f"'OPle ma ...·rialis!S thai could mean t~y.", like Vog'.' M~hott.' and Buchner.' That, ho"·,'nr. has ",o'hing 10 do wilt> it

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