For the majority of people, it is the second of the two essays in this volume that will compel them to buy Identity and Difference. Both essays, however, are about the nature of metaphysics and given that the very possibility of metaphysics is a hot issue today, readers will likely find themselves benefitting by giving both essays a deep reading. The book also contains the original German of the essays, which makes the book twice as long; if one reads German then one will certainly benefit from this as it gives one the opportunity to study Heidegger's nuanced and technical prose more closely.



"The Onto-Theological Constitution of Metaphysics" has become something of a classic little work in the realm of post-modern religious and theological studies; however un/intentionally, Heidegger managed, with it, to open up the door for a return of the theological right in the middle of all philosophical discourse. Perhaps this is ironic, given that Heidegger was quite insistent that philosophy was fundamentally secular in its orientation. Or, perhaps this is intentional and serves to support the medieval Scholastic contentional the philosophy is the "hand maid" of theology and that reason finds its necessary completion in plenitudinous event of Revelation.



How does one find or speak of the God that is beyond the "causa sui" (ie, self-caused) God of metaphysics? Where is the God that can be prayed to and danced before, worshipped and adored when metaphysics has turned the concept of God into nothing more than that of the unmoved mover? Heidegger does not seek to give a theological explanation here to this question, but simply to note that the problem exists. This does not mean the end of God, however, but necessitates a rethinking of the function and nature of metaphysics: we need to step out of metaphysics so that we might step back into its "active essence".



This is a work that complements Heidegger's Introduction to Metaphysics well. Written in the post-war period, it witnesses to much of the confusion that was prevalent during the time and the urgent feeling that certain long-standing notions could no longer make sense of the late modern experience. Heidegger's seeking a God beyond the idol-god of metaphysics has paved the way for much contemporary thought concerning the relation of philosophy to theology (and its most acute exposition has been given by Jean-Luc Marion in his fine book God Without Being). Identity and Difference is essential reading.