Monday 28 November 2011

Heidegger on Poetry and Thinking

Poetry and thinking meet each other in one and the same only when, and as long as, they remain distinctly in the distinctness of their nature. (Heidegger, '...poetically man dwells...')

The profundity of Heidegger's thinking about poetry (or 'poetic thinking' as Heidegger's 'Dichten' can also be translated) lies in his sensitivity to the possibility that the essence of poetry might simply be inaccessible to thinking - even postmetaphysical or meditative thinking, i.e. 'Denken'. Heidegger recognizes that 'Dichten', as the spiritual activity or thoughtful journey of the poet might be such that it can only be fully understood 'from the inside', in the same sort of way that swimming can only be fully understood by someone who has actually learned to swim. If this is true, and the spiritual journey involved in 'Denken' is radically distinct from 'Dichten', it would follow that 'Denken' could only ever approach an understanding of poetry indirectly and externally. Not only would a philosophical definition of the nature and purpose of poetry be unattainable - even a philosophical account of the relation between philosophy and poetry, between Dichten and Denken, would face significant limits. Indeed it is not clear why Heidegger's claim that poetry and thinking can 'meet....in one and the same' does not overstep these limits, in that it brings the kinds of spiritual activity together under the roof of 'the same' as this is understood by 'Denken.