Abstract

Sefler has written a helpful book on the question of the relationship between Heidegger and Wittgenstein which should contribute to clearing up the grounds upon which this discussion must take place. Sefler’s book, based on his 1970 doctoral dissertation, employs what he calls a "methodological" approach. Instead of comparing Wittgenstein and Heidegger directly in terms of the content of their thought, he claims it is more fruitful to compare them "relationally," using Carnap’s "structural descriptions." Thus in Part One, he argues that while Heidegger is speaking of the things themselves and Wittgenstein of language, still for both thinkers philosophy is an "interpretative description," which, having renounced the ideal of a "pure" description, always sees a thing "as" something.