Identität und Differenz (GA 11)

Author: Martin Heidegger · Year: 2006 (GA edition; texts 1949–1963) · Editor: Friedrich-Wilhelm von Herrmann · Type: book (Sammelband)

GA 11 collects six texts spanning 1949–1963, unified around the Seinsfrage, the step-back from metaphysics, the Ereignis, and the onto-theo-logical constitution of metaphysics. The 2006 GA edition adds ~250 Randbemerkungen from Heidegger's hand-copies — including sustained self-corrections (Anhang + Beilagen) that retract the Identitätsvortrag's central figure (Sprung/Einkehr) as "eigentlich Unzureichend" and replace it with Erwachen/Entsagen.

Core Arguments

  1. Claim: Philosophy is Ent-sprechung (cor-respondence) to the Sein des Seienden, not discourse about philosophy; its answer can only be a philosophierende Antwort that enacts the movement it names. Because: Historical-comparative method yields only "leere Formel." Genuine answering requires speaking with the philosophers (durchsprechen), not about them. The distinction erwidernde Aussage / Ent-sprechung is the performative core. Against: Non-propositional "answers" smuggle the conclusion into the method. (Was ist das – die Philosophie?, pp. 11–24)

  2. Claim: Stimmung (dis-position/attunement) is the ἀρχή of philosophy — the ontological condition under which the Zuspruch des Seins is heard. Greek Erstaunen, Cartesian Zweifel, and an unnamed Grundstimmung for "today" are epochal Stimmungen. Because: Plato Theaetetus 155d: θαυμάζειν is not starting-point but governing origin. πάθος re-read as Stimmung (Ge-stimmtheit/Be-stimmtheit). Even "die Kälte der Berechnung" is a Gestimmtheit. Against: Mood is subjective contingency; validity is mood-independent. (Was ist das – die Philosophie?, pp. 25–29)

  3. Claim: Identity is not abstract Einerlei (A=A) but a Vermittelung involving self-relation. Parmenides' τὸ γὰρ αὐτό reverses the metaphysical order: Being belongs IN an identity, not identity as a trait of Being. Identity is Eigentum des Er-eignisses. Because: Plato Sophist 254d shows ἑαυτῷ ταὐτόν (self-relation); Parmenides fr. 3 shows Sein and Denken belong in the Same (τὸ αὐτό). The Zusammengehören stress-shift (belonging determines togetherness, not the reverse) opens the path to the Ereignis. Against: Parmenides fr. 3 admits other readings; the Eigentum/Ereignis word-play may presuppose what it argues. (Der Satz der Identität, pp. 37–62)

  4. Claim: Ge-stell is a Vorspiel (prelude) of the Ereignis — already enacting the mutual Eignen-structure but in constrained/provocation mode. Because: In the Ge-stell, Mensch and Sein are mutually zu-gestellt; a "seltsames Vereignen und Zueignen" operates. The Ge-stell is "seiender" than atomic energy because it names the Konstellation, not any entity. Against: Treating technology's danger as Vorspiel of a saving event aestheticizes domination (Frankfurt School objection). (Der Satz der Identität, pp. 55–59)

  5. Claim: Metaphysics has an onto-theo-logical constitution because Being shows itself as Grund (ground). Being as Logos/Hen unfolds as the ergründende Einheit des Allgemeinen (κοινότατον) AND the begründende Einheit des Höchsten (τιμιώτατον). The God enters philosophy through the Austrag. Because: The Sache des Denkens (Being) manifests as "der sich selbst ergründende und begründende Grund." The Logos as Ἕν is "zwiefältig." The Austrag (carrying-out of the Differenz) generates the onto-logical and the theo-logical as correlative moments. The God of philosophy = causa sui. Against: Reducing all metaphysical theology to causa sui flattens genuine differences (Aristotle's νόησις νοήσεως, Aquinas's ipsum esse, Hegel's absolute Idea). (Die onto-theo-logische Verfassung der Metaphysik, pp. 74–89)

  6. Claim: The Differenz of Sein and Seiendes must be thought as Austrag: Sein as entbergende Überkommnis (disclosing advent), Seiendes as sich bergende Ankunft (self-concealing arrival). The Austrag is the Vorort of the Differenz's essence. Because: The Differenz is not a Distinktion added by Verstand but always already operative ("Ick bünn all hier," p. 81). The "ist" speaks transitively. The Austrag holds Überkommnis and Ankunft auseinander-zueinander (apart-toward-one-another). Against: Heidegger's own Randbemerkung (90): "Hier der Rückfall" — the Austrag language risks relapsing into the grounding-structure it diagnoses. (Die onto-theo-logische Verfassung, pp. 81–89)

  7. Claim: The gott-lose Denken that surrenders the God of philosophy (causa sui) may be nearer to the divine God than onto-theo-logik allows. Because: "Zu diesem Gott kann der Mensch weder beten, noch kann er ihm opfern." The philosophical God is constitutively unworshipable. Surrendering it frees thinking for an unspecified göttlicher Gott. Against: The "divine God" is an empty placeholder — never itself thought. (Die onto-theo-logische Verfassung, p. 89)

  8. Claim: The Kehre is not a biographical event but belongs to the Sachverhalt itself. When the Gefahr IS as the Gefahr, the Rettende is (Hölderlin). The Einblick in das was ist is the Blitz of Being's truth into wahrlose Sein — not human insight but the Ereignis of the Kehre. Because: The Kehre is internal to the Gefahr: Vergessenheit reverses into Wahrnis when it "eigens sich ereignet." The 1937/38 GA 45 lecture demonstrates the Kehre was in play a decade before 1947. Against: All biographical "conversion" narratives; all causal/gradualist models of overcoming. (Die Kehre, pp. 113–124; Richardson letter, pp. 149–155)

Argumentative Movement

The six texts move by different modes: the WisP lecture by hermeneutic retrieval of the Greek; the I&D pair by phenomenological-etymological dismantling of a formula (A=A); the OTL text by contrastive dialogue with Hegel; Die Kehre by visionary-prophetic declaration; Grundsätze by dialectical escalation (laws of thought → Hegel → Marx → atomic energy → darkness); the letters by autobiographical clarification. The Beilagen add a unique self-critical register: Heidegger retroactively correcting his own vocabulary.

Key Findings

  • The Randbemerkungen apparatus (Anhang + Beilagen I/II) constitutes a sustained self-dismantling of the Identitätsvortrag. The central figure (Sprung/Einkehr) is replaced by Erwachen/Entsagen, and the entire lecture is diagnosed as "eigentlich Unzureichend" — still in the Übergang from metaphysics.
  • The Ge-Viert (Fourfold) emerges in the Beilagen as the suppressed correction: the published text speaks of Mensch-Sein Zusammengehören, but the marginalia insist the true frame is the Ge-Viert (Beilage I: "dem Wink der wechselweisen Eignung von Sein und Mensch folgen — aber im Ge-Viert").
  • The Austrag vocabulary (entbergende Überkommnis / sich bergende Ankunft) is GA 11's distinctive contribution to the ontological-difference question — different from SuZ's operative difference and from the ZuS Es-gibt chain.
  • Die Kehre (1949) contains "Ereignis ist eignende Eräugnis" (p. 121) — an earlier, more vision-inflected formulation than the 1962 Zeit und Sein treatment. The Eräugnis (bringing-into-sight) etymology is more prominent than the later Es-gibt derivation.

Concepts Developed

  • kehre — the turn internal to the Gefahr whereby Vergessenheit reverses into Wahrnis; structural, not biographical (Die Kehre + Richardson letter)
  • onto-theo-logik — the onto-theo-logical constitution of metaphysics: Being as Grund → Logos/Hen → ergründend/begründend → causa sui (OTL text)
  • ontological-difference — the Differenz thought as Austrag (OTL text, pp. 81–89)
  • ereignis — reached via the Zusammengehören-path (SdI) and as "eignende Eräugnis" (Die Kehre); identity as Eigentum des Er-eignisses
  • schritt-zurueck — from metaphysics into the Wesen of metaphysics; diagnosed as "mißdeutig" in the Beilagen; the Sprung→Erwachen self-correction
  • ge-stell — Vorspiel of the Ereignis; Gefahr as Being's self-concealment (Die Kehre)

Concepts Referenced

  • aufheben — Hegel's Aufhebung as the contrast-term to Schritt zurück (OTL text)
  • widerspruch-hegel — cited via Hegel in Grundsätze: "Wurzel aller Bewegung und Lebendigkeit"
  • aletheia — one of three decisive insights (Richardson letter)
  • dasein — the site of the Seinsfrage (Richardson letter, Die Kehre)
  • seinsgeschichte — anti-historicist polemic throughout Die Kehre + Grundsätze
  • lichtung — "In der Kehre lichtet sich jäh die Lichtung des Wesens des Seins" (Die Kehre p. 120)
  • brauch — "das Wesen des Seins das Menschenwesen braucht" (Die Kehre p. 116; Kojima letter p. 173)

Key Passages

"Die Antwort ist vielmehr die Ent-sprechung, die dem Sein des Seienden entspricht." (WisP, p. 23)

"Das Erstaunen trägt und durchherrscht die Philosophie." (WisP, p. 26)

"Das Sein gehört in eine Identität." (SdI, p. 40)

"Das Zusammen wird jetzt aus dem Gehören bestimmt." (SdI, p. 42)

"ein Vorspiel dessen, was Er-eignis heißt." (SdI, p. 58)

"Das Wesen der Identität ist ein Eigentum des Er-eignisses." (SdI, p. 60)

"Im Gleichen verschwindet die Verschiedenheit. Im Selben erscheint die Verschiedenheit." (OTL, p. 67)

"Sein zeigt sich als die entbergende Überkommnis. Seiendes als solches erscheint in der Weise der in die Unverborgenheit sich bergenden Ankunft." (OTL, p. 83)

"der entbergend-bergende Austrag beider." (OTL, p. 83)

"Zu diesem Gott kann der Mensch weder beten, noch kann er ihm opfern. Vor der Causa sui kann der Mensch weder aus Scheu ins Knie fallen, noch kann er vor diesem Gott musizieren und tanzen." (OTL, p. 89)

"Die Gefahr selber ist, wenn sie als die Gefahr ist, das Rettende." (Die Kehre, p. 119)

"Ereignis ist eignende Eräugnis." (Die Kehre, p. 121)

"Die Stille stillt. Was stillt sie? Sie stillt Sein in das Wesen von Welt." (Die Kehre, p. 124)

"Die Kehre ist in erster Linie nicht ein Vorgang im fragenden Denken; sie gehört in den ... Sachverhalt selbst." (Richardson letter, p. 152)

"Der Mensch ist der von der Macht des Stellens für dieses Gebrauchte. Seine Eigenheit beruht darin, daß er nicht sich selbst gehört." (Kojima letter, p. 173)

"Das Unzureichende der noch metaphysischen Verhaftung im 'Sprung'" (Anhang, p. 83)

"Nicht Springen — sondern Erwachen in das Ereignis" (Beilage I Blatt 2, p. 106)

What's Not Obvious

  1. The Beilagen are a systematic self-dismantling, not marginal corrections. The Anhang (p. 83) + Beilagen I (9 sheets) + Beilagen II (6 sheets) constitute a sustained retraction of the Identitätsvortrag's central method. The published lecture's most dramatic claim — that a "Sprung" (leap) is needed to reach the Ereignis — is diagnosed by its own author as "eigentlich Unzureichend" and replaced by "Erwachen" (awakening-within). This means the published text performs a movement its author later considers compromised. Any secondary literature that takes the "leap" at face value is engaging the retracted version. (Passages: Anhang p. 83; Beilage I Umschlag "Schon der Hinblick auf 'Identität' bringt alles ins notwendig Schiefe"; Beilage II Blatt 6 "zweideutig und eigentlich mißdeutig.")

  2. The Ge-Viert is the suppressed true frame. The published Identitätsvortrag speaks of Mensch and Sein in Zusammengehören. But the Beilagen insist the correct frame is the Ge-Viert (Fourfold): "dem Wink der wechselweisen Eignung von Sein und Mensch folgen — aber im Ge-Viert" (Beilage I p. 96); "er als ins Ge-Viert gehörend" (Beilage II Blatt 5 p. 114). The published text's Mensch-Sein dyad is a concession to "das geläufige metaphysische Vorstellen" that the marginalia revoke. This connects to the ontological-difference page: the Differenz (Sein/Seiendes) is the published-text figure; the Ge-Viert is the corrected figure.

  3. The 1949 "eignende Eräugnis" is the earliest Ereignis formulation in the wiki's Heidegger corpus. Die Kehre (1949, p. 121) uses "Ereignis ist eignende Eräugnis" — stressing the vision/seeing etymology (Eräugnis from er-äugen, to catch sight of). The 1962 Zeit und Sein reaches Ereignis through the Es-gibt chain. The 1949 formulation is more "vision-inflected" and 8 years earlier. The secondary literature overwhelmingly cites the 1962 version; Die Kehre is cited for the Gefahr/Rettende dialectic but rarely for its Ereignis formulation. (Passage: Die Kehre p. 121; cross-ref ereignis contrastive note.)

Critique / Limitations

  • The Austrag language risks the very relapse into grounding-structure that it diagnoses — Heidegger's own Randbemerkung (90) acknowledges this ("Hier der Rückfall").
  • The gott-loses Denken passage gestures toward a "divine God" that is never specified — it clears space but doesn't build.
  • The Beilagen's self-corrections create an interpretive problem: should the reader follow the published text or the marginalia? The GA edition presents both without resolving the tension.
  • Heidegger's claim that Greek is the only language that is λόγος (p. 17) is asserted without argument and sits uncomfortably with the volume's own question about whether Western languages harbor non-metaphysical possibilities.
  • The Marx-within-Hegel argument (Grundsätze pp. 139–141) is philosophically interesting but never confronts Marx's own claim to have "stood Hegel on his feet."

Connections

  • is the primary source for kehre — the Sachverhalt-reading of the Kehre
  • is the primary source for onto-theo-logik — the onto-theo-logical constitution
  • extends ontological-difference — via the Austrag vocabulary
  • extends ereignis — via the Zusammengehören-path and the 1949 "eignende Eräugnis"
  • critiques aufheben regarding the Schritt zurück as non-dialectical alternative
  • extends ge-stell — Vorspiel thesis + Verwindung
  • contrasts with hegel-1807-phenomenology-spirit regarding the Sache des Denkens: Hegel = der Gedanke; Heidegger = die Differenz als Differenz
  • applies Schritt zurück to vollendung-der-metaphysik — from Technologie into the Wesen der Technik

Open Questions

  • How should the wiki handle the published-text/marginalia tension? The Beilagen retract the lecture's central figure; should concept pages cite the published version or the retracted one?
  • Does the Ge-Viert correction in the Beilagen require updating every page that presents the late-Heidegger dyad (Mensch-Sein)?
  • The three claim candidates (Sprung→Erwachen reframes method; Austrag as Wesensherkunft of OTL; Kehre as Sachverhalt not biography) are deferred to audit Phase 8.

Sources

(This is a primary source; no wiki sources inform it.)