In this innovative contribution, Eric S. Nelson offers a contextualized
and systematic exploration of the Chinese sources and German language
interpretations that shaped Heidegger's engagement with Daoism and his
thinking of the thing, nothingness, and the freedom of releasement
(Gelassenheit). Encompassing forgotten and recently published
historical sources, including Heidegger's Daoist-related reflections in
his lectures and notebooks, Nelson presents a critical intercultural
reinterpretation of Heidegger's philosophical journey.
Nelson analyzes the intersections and differences between the
Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, and Heidegger's philosophy and the
linguistic and conceptual shifts in Heidegger's thinking that correlate
with his encounters and interactions with Daoist, Buddhist, and East
Asian texts and interlocutors. He thereby traces hints for encountering
things and environments anew, models for intercultural hermeneutics, and
ways of reimagining the thing, nothingness, and freedom with and beyond
Heidegger's thought.
This work elucidates the thing, the mystery, and freedom in Heidegger
and Daoism in Part I and Heidegger's thinking of nothingness, emptiness,
and the clearing in relation to Daoist and Buddhist philosophy in Part
II. In each part, Nelson unfolds a fresh perspective for thinking
further with Heidegger and East Asian philosophies in relation to the
contemporary existential and environmental situation for the sake of
nourishing life amidst damaged life.
