Volume 33, 2018
Philosophical Traditions in Asia and the Pacific
Wei-Ding Tsai
Pages 25-29
On Heidegger’s Concept of Poet
The later Heidegger sees the poet as messenger of Being, when he speaks after the Saying (Sage) of Being. But only if the poet takes the risk of being mad, he can hear the message of Being and bring it out. Insofar, it is clear that the poet does not need any human art of poetry. Heidegger calls this kind of bringing-out “techne” in its original sense - but not in the ordinary sense of human art or technique. But how could the poet who is in the madness and uses no human art still convey the message of Being? Is this really the only and best way to reveal Being? This article tries to answer these questions with the help of two dialogues of Plato, i.e. Ion and Phaedrus.