Abstract

As I began considering possible dissertation topics, I recalled that from early on in my graduate studies professors with whom I was studying Heidegger sometimes referred to a then recently published work, the Beitriige zur Philosophie. The text was written during the 1930s but remained unpublished for some fifty years. Because of this it had a certain mystique. It was thought to be both important and challenging. The terminology and language of the text was considered to be exceedingly difficult, and there was some question whether or not it could be translated properly, since even the German was highly innovative. Also, very little had been written in the early years after the Beitriige's publication. The Beitriige seemed to offer a great opportunity for research. Searching for a theme for my dissertation, I was struck by the prevalence in the Beitriige of the term Kehre. According to my experience, when the term Kehre is used in relation to Heidegger, the term signifies the change that Heidegger's thinking underwent during the 1930s. However, the Beitriige develops the Kehre as a theme that is intrinsic to the notion of Ereignis itself, which is the chief term in the text for the essence of being. Although the details of the relationship of the Kelzre to Ereignis remained unclear to me for some time, I recognized immediately that Heidegger's use of the term Kehre in the Beitriige was different from the way the term is commonly used when speaking of Heidegger. What I have attempted to do in the present dissertation is flesh out the theme of the Kehre in the Beitriige and to take steps to place the theme in Heidegger's basic thinking and formulation of being.