Remembrances of Martin Heidegger in Marburg
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(Originally Published in Philosophy Today, Swnmer 1979, Pages 160-169) (© 1979 by the Messenger Press. Reprinted by Permission) REMEMBRANCES OF MARTIN HEIDEGGER IN MARBURG elisabeth hirsch According to Heidegger's own bered houses and the castle on a hill, words the years of his teaching career Marburg exuded a romantic· atmos he enjoyed most were those in Marburg phere. In addition, in a few minutes from 1923-1928. These were also the one was deep in nature and so Hei best years of the Weimar Republic. The degger could enjoy his customary af German mark was stabilized, the econ ternoon walks. If one was lucky to omy greatly improved and the cultural meet him, he would always stop for life reached a high point. Dance, music, a short talk. theater, the visual arts and poetry Today Marburg has 1;),000 students flourished as never before and created and half of them are Communists. But an atmosphere of excitement among when Heidegger was there, Marburg young people. And the immensely pro had only 3,000 students; their contact ductive intellectual and artistic actiY with thl' professors was close. Marburg ity did not fail to have an impact on was rather notorious for hE'r many the academic community. The French dueling fraternities; the students be writer Paul Duhamel was greatly im lansing to them were mostly conserva pressed by the German universities. In tiYes in politics. In opposition to them a lecture he delivered at Marburg Uni the liberal students founded the aca versity he remarked: "There are said demic association; if my memory is to be seven world wonders but the Ger correct, Heidegger attended some of man universities must be added as the its meetings. eighth." At the time Marburg University Marburg's rural setting pleased had a nation-wide reputation for its Heidegger. The town is situated at the Neokantian school and the department river Lahn and is surrounded by the of religion which counted among its Lahn mountains. With its winding nar professors several noted theologians. In row streets, the old fountains, half-tim the light of Heidegger's interests in REMEMBRANCES OF MARTIN HEIDEGGER IN MARBURG the twenties, his appointment as a pro of some importance to note that Hei fessor at the University was an im degger, although he agreed with Hart portant period in his career. It was mann on the strict separation of psy Paul Natorp, the famous representative chology and philosophy, quoted Spran of the Neokantian school, who was in ger in Sein und Zeit in support of his strumental in bringing Heidegger · to view as to the "constitution of histori Marburg. It is sometimes said that cal understanding".' It is characteristic after the first World War students were of Heidegger then and later that criti bored with the way philosophy was cism did not make him blind to an taught at the universities and that Hus author's achievement in other respects. ser! and Phenomenology provided the I remember that Heidegger was quite answer to what many students were unhappy about the misunderstanding looking for. On the other hand, the his "destruction of metaphysics" cre Neokantian school, dependent on its ated among his colleagues. During a re!fresentative, had much inspiration to conversation he remarked that "critique offer. Paul Natorp, for instance, had is always also admiration". (Kritik the temperament of a true philosopher schliesst immer Verehrung ein). On the and attracted many students. I am not occasion of a seminar Heidegger con surprised that he and Heidegger were ducted at Zollikon he elucidated his in close contact.' vievv· of critique: "Criticism" he stated At a progressive Gymnasium in "is derived from the Greek word krinein Berlin I had a professor in philosophy that is to differentiate, to contrast with. who had studied with Natorp. He im Genuine criticism is different from crit bued us with an enthusiasm for philos icizing in the sense of finding fault with, ophy which he had experienced as a of disapproving and carping. Criticism student with Natorp. At a relatively (as an act) of differentiating means to young age I had become a great ad show the different as such in its differ mirer of Kant. Since phenomenology entiation. What is different is this. only in Freiburg where I spent my first in as far as it is different in one respect. semester had somewhat disappointed Consequently, we see first the same: me, I decided to spend the summer the latter and that which is differenti semester 1925 at Marburg. Unfortun ated from it belong together. Any in ately, Natorp had already died the year vestigation must direct the eye to the before and Nicolai Hartmann now rep same. In other words, genuine criticism resented the Neokantian school. I took as this kind of showing is eminently a course in Epistemology and a seminar positive. And genuine criticism is on Kant with him. When I registered rare."' A case in point is Ernst Cas for the seminar Hartmann asked what sirer, a product of the Marburg school I had done during the winter semester who had studied with Paul Natorp. In in Berlin. I told him that I had taken his review of Cassirer's Mythical Eduard Spranger's seminar for begin Thought Heidegger is quite critical of ners where we read Kant's two Cri Cassirer's failures to relate myth to tiques. He looked at me with a good Dasein. He nevertheless recognized Cas. deal of doubt and remarked rather iron sirer's "first attempt since Schelling to ically: "And you think you will hear place myth as a systematic problem the same here?" Spranger was a noted within the range of philosophy."• psychologist and thus Hartman objected In the recently published second to his intrusion into philosophy. It is edition of Karl Jaspers' Autobiographie 337 PHILOSOPHY ToDAY, SuMMER 1979 nineteen pages of references to Heideg in kind telling him: "You are instead ger previously left out are now included. traditional in your factional philoso Jaspers tells of a conversation with Hei phy.',. degger in the course of which he ex During the ten years he worked on pressed his surprise that "The dedica Sein und Zeit Heidegger felt quite close tion of Heidegger's first book to Ri to Max Scheler.' They shared a criti ckert, of his second to Husser!, em cism of the Neokantian school because phasizes a connection with people of in the words of Scheler, "it is a thinking whom he had spoken to me with con that creates objects in accord with the tempt." "He pretended" Jaspers con inner rules of the mind."' Like Heideg tinued "to belong to a tractional world ger Scheler differentiates between the from which we had set ourselves task of philosophy and the task of the apart."' The use of the word contempt sciences: The former raises the ques rna::: well be a misnomer; it is quite tion of the fundament (Grund) of all possible, however, that Heidegger made that is, the latter explains nature and some derogatory remarks in regard to events with the help of Jaws.' More certain aspects of their respective phi important still Heidegger's concept of losophies with which he disagreed. In Dasein-being-in-the-world and with oth addition, it is not justified to refer, as er human beings corresponds in Schel Jaspers did, to Rickert and Husser! in er's philosophy to the notion of a per one breath. The dedication of Die son, that is the whole concrete man as Kategorien ..und Bedeutungslehre des a feeling, acting, loving and thinking Duns Scotus to Rickert is of 1916, the being in his relation to "world" and one of Sein und Zeit of 1927. Much had other people. In Sein und Zeit Heideg happened between 1916 and 1927. Hei ger quotes Scheler in support of his degger could have countered Jaspers' view that a person's acts are not the reproach with calling his attention to object of a science (psychology); they the fact that what was true in 1916 have to be seen in the context of a was not necessarily true in 1927 and whole person's being.'• later. I remember quite vividly that Although Heidegger had doubts during my years at Marburg Heidegger about the possibility of a philosophical was quite outspoken in his opposition to anthropology which according to him any value philosophy be it Rickert's or had been Scheler's goal for years, he Hartmann's. Phenomenology, on the recognized the great contributions other hand, remained an important in Scheler had made to philosophy. When fluence throughout Heidegger's career. Max Scheler died in 1928 Heidegger Furthermore Heidegger may have gave a short speech remembering his avoided the issue Jaspers had raised great colleague before he started his because of a strong dislike to give an lecture course. The final words .which account of his intellectual background said so much in their utter simplicity and his personal or professional rela are still alive in my memory: Ein Licht tionships. (It was for this reason Hei ist au8gegangen. (A light has gone degger told me that he declined Profes out.)" sor Schilpp's suggestion to publish a In contrast to his relationship with volume dealing with his philosophy in Scheler, Heidegger had Jess in common The Library of Living Philosaphers.) with Nicolai Hartmann. The latter Instead of defending himself against had somewhat loosened the scientifical Jaspers' reproach Heidegger answered ly oriented Neokantian position in that 338 REMEMBRANCES OF MARTIN HEIDEGGER IN MARBURG he admitted the importance of "emo uon the positive sciences.HJG In Der tional" transcendental acts and dis Satz vom Grund (1957) Heidegger tinguished between layers of entities refers to Hartmann's and others mis from matter to spirit to which various understanding of the basic stance taken categories applied.