Yes, Heidegger used the phrase “the end of metaphysics” and discussed the concept extensively in his later works. However, the phrase does not signify a simple rejection or cessation of metaphysics but rather a culmination of metaphysics and a transition to a new way of thinking.
Heidegger’s Understanding of “The End of Metaphysics”
1. The Historical Completion of Metaphysics
• Heidegger argued that metaphysics, as it has been understood in Western thought, reached its culmination or completion in modernity, particularly in the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche’s concept of the “will to power” and his proclamation of the “death of God” represent, for Heidegger, the final stage of metaphysical thinking.
• For Heidegger, Nietzsche’s thought reveals the essence of metaphysics as the interpretation of Being in terms of power, mastery, and human-centered values.
2. Metaphysics as a Forgetting of Being
• In Heidegger’s view, metaphysics has been characterized by a progressive forgetting of the question of Being (Seinsvergessenheit). From Plato to Nietzsche, metaphysics has focused on beings (entities) rather than on Being itself, reducing Being to concepts like substance, essence, or will.
• The “end of metaphysics” thus signifies the culmination of this forgetting, where metaphysics can no longer meaningfully question the nature of Being.
3. Technological Thinking as the End of Metaphysics
• Heidegger identified the modern era’s technological worldview as the ultimate expression of metaphysical thinking. In technology, Being is reduced to a resource for human use, a process Heidegger calls enframing (Gestell).
• This technological enframing marks the “end” of metaphysics because it completes the trajectory of reducing Being to something manipulable and calculable.
4. The Need to Overcome Metaphysics
• Heidegger does not advocate for the abandonment of metaphysics but its overcoming (Überwindung). By this, he means moving beyond metaphysical frameworks to a deeper engagement with the nature of Being.
• This overcoming is tied to Heidegger’s later concept of Ereignis (the event of appropriation), where Being is no longer treated as a fixed presence but as a dynamic, unfolding event.
Where Heidegger Discusses “The End of Metaphysics”
The phrase and its implications appear in several of Heidegger’s key texts:
1. “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking” (1964)
• In this essay, Heidegger explicitly discusses the end of metaphysics, framing it as a turning point that necessitates a new way of thinking. He contrasts philosophy as metaphysics with what he calls thinking (Denken), which seeks to engage with Being without metaphysical presuppositions.
2. “Nietzsche” (Vols. I and II)
• Heidegger’s interpretation of Nietzsche portrays him as the final metaphysician, whose philosophy marks both the culmination and the end of metaphysics.
3. “Introduction to Metaphysics” (1935)
• Although this work predates his explicit discussions of the end of metaphysics, it lays the groundwork for his critique of metaphysical thinking and his call to reawaken the question of Being.
4. “What Is Metaphysics?” (1929)
• In this early lecture, Heidegger sets the stage for his later critiques by emphasizing the importance of confronting nothingness and the limits of metaphysical thinking.
Heidegger’s “End of Metaphysics” in Your Context
The “end of metaphysics” aligns with your exploration of problematique and Ereignis as a transformative event. For Heidegger:
• The end of metaphysics represents a wound in the history of thought—the realization that metaphysical frameworks are insufficient for engaging with the fundamental questions of existence.
• This “end” is not despair but an opportunity for new beginnings, where thinking moves beyond metaphysical closure to embrace the openness of Being.
In your philosophical journey, the end of metaphysics could be seen as a call to engage with existence, trauma, and transformation in ways that reject reductive frameworks, affirming instead the dynamic unfolding of life and thought.
