ASRC 1832 - FWS: Thinking Heidegger: Reading Was Heisst Denken

Fall. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

First-Year Writing Seminar.

G. Farred.

We have a range of expressions that deal with thinking. For example: She is very good at “thinking on her feet” or he “thinks fast” both denote speed of thought – or, the ability to command the response the moment or the encounter demands. However, in these expressions, we hardly ever raise the question of what thinking is. This course seeks to address precisely this issue, What is thinking?, through a reading of Martin Heidegger’s work Was Heisst Denken? (“What is Called Thinking?”) Heidegger is relentless in his pursuit of this question and as thorough as he can be. Still, it could be argued that the question remains incompletely answered, presenting itself as a challenge to us in our engagement with it. Was Heisst Denken? Is the primary text for this course, with an excursion or two through the work of WEB DuBois and Michel Foucault in those moments that these figures turn their attention fully to thinking.