Revitalizing the Concept of Greek Logos in Heidegger’s Linguistic Contemplation
Subject Areas : ریشهشناسی مکاتب و آراء فلسفی در ادوار قدیم و جدید
Hamidreza Erfanifar
1
,
Ali Naghi Baghershahi
2
,
Seyyed Masood Seif
3
,
Mohammad Hasan Heidari
4
1 - PhD Candidate of Western Contemporary Philosophy, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
2 - Associate Professor, Philosophy Department, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
3 - Associate Professor, Philosophy Department, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
4 - Assistant Professor, Philosophy Department, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
Keywords: Logos, language, Existence, Heraclitus, Heidegger,
Abstract :
The concept of Logos has undergone a complicated process of development. This term was used for the first time by pre-Socratic philosophers as a fundamental concept in relation to the universal and regulative intellect. Heraclitus granted Logos an original status in philosophy. After him, some other philosophers used this term in different meanings and functions in Greek. In Christianity, Logos turned into a divine power and Christ himself. In the contemporary era, Heidegger used this concept in order to explain his perception of language and its relation to Dasein. In this paper, the authors aim to propound and investigate the meanings and concepts that the Greek tried to express using the term Logos based on available evidence in the history of philosophy in ancient Greece. Next, they analyze Heidegger’s standpoint on this old concept and his interpretation and use of Logos in revealing his intentions in terms of linguistic ontology. After comparing the Greeks’ ideas of Logos and Heidegger’s understanding of this term, they conclude that Heidegger chooses Logos because it allows things to be seen. This is because in his view language is not only a tool for communication but also a revealer of the truth of existents. Therefore, he has paid greater attention to this aspect of Logos.