Abstract

This dissertation will examine the problems of language and truth which are fundamental to philosophizing. Heidegger has made a substantial contribution to contemporary philosophy by reawakening it to the Greek notion of alatheia as simultaneous revelation and concealment. This is the essential notion in Plato's understanding of truth. But Plato's philosophy takes one essential step beyond Heidegger's and grounds his theory of truth in his notion of the "Good". ;According to Heidegger, there is only one ultimate question for philosophy: What does it mean to be? This is the single question around which all of Martin Heidegger's thinking revolves. The preliminary analysis that forms the foundation for all of Heidegger's thinking about Being is the extensive analysis of Dasein which makes up the published portions of Sein und Zeit. Among the many topics covered in this work is the foundation of Heidegger's theory of language which is amplified in his later thought. For Heidegger language makes it possible for us to stand within openness to what is. Heidegger's understanding of language opposes the notion that the locus of truth can reside in the logical characteristics of propositions. In Platons Lehre von der Wahrheit, Heidegger holds that Plato conceives of thinking Being as a going beyond the beings of experience to their beingness which he conceives as their whatness, their idea. ;Heidegger's criticism prompts us to re-examine Plato. The guidelines for our re-examination are: Plato's thinking is a dynamic interplay between abstract philosophical topics and concrete dramatic situations, there is another interplay between knowledge and ignorance which is essential to the dialogues; the dialogue structure shows what philosophy must be. ;Plato's understanding of language yields three essential points: first, that it is within language that the search for being and philosophy itself must take place; secondly, that language has a divine character, a gift of Hermes; and finally, language can reveal and conceal. Plato's understanding of language is crucial to understanding the problem of truth. Plato's notion of truth is based on his combining the Pre-Socratic notion of physis, the power of self-showing, with his Idea of "Good", the source of all that is. ;In conclusion there is a basic agreement between Heidegger and Plato on language and the nature of truth. Reawakening these notions of language and truth can prove a valuable contribution to philosophy. But, while Heidegger's thought excludes the "Good", Plato's philosophy is grounded in his understanding of the "Good"