Being and Time

De: Martin Heidegger

Narrado por: Martyn Swain, Taylor Carman

In his lucid introduction to this recording, Professor Taylor Carman declares unequivocally that Being and Time by Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) is ‘one of the great masterpieces of 20th century philosophy.’ And that is despite the fact that it is unquestionably a challenging listen. But by placing it in its historical context - the key work on existentialism between Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) - it becomes much easier to approach.

As Professor Carman explains, ‘Being and Time addresses a seemingly simple question: What does it mean to be?’ As far as we know, human beings are the only existing things ‘with an understanding of what it is for something to exist’ and, furthermore, are aware of their own existence. Heidegger chose the German word Dasein - existence: literally ‘being there’ - instead of more common expressions such as man, human being, soul, consciousness, etc. And he embarks upon his investigation, considering ‘being there in-the-world, in time (past, present, future); discussing ‘authentic’ and ‘inauthentic’ living and dying; and the acceptance of impermanence. ‘Dasein’s existence is pervaded by a primordial kind of anxiety (Angst)’, Carman remarks, but points out that the concept of care is central to Heidegger’s view: ‘to be a human being is to care about something’.

Being and Time was published in 1927 during the Weimar period in Germany, a time of political, social and economic turmoil. Heidegger himself did not escape the pressures, and his nationalism and undeniable anti-Semitism in the following decades cast a shadow over the man, but not the work. Being and Time is not coloured by expressions of his later views (unlike other writings) and remains an outstanding document.

This recording opens with Professor Carman reading his introduction. Being and Time is read by Martyn Swain.

Translation: John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson.

The contents - showing the plan of the work - and the full text of the introduction are available on a PDF for download with this recording.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©1967 Wiley Blackwell (P)2020 Ukemi Productions Ltd

Impressive Achievement on the part of the Reader

It is not easy to read Heidegger with evident comprehension, but that is precisely what Martyn Swain does here. I bought this on a whim because it was on sale, and it ended up being the most enjoyable listening experience I've had in years. The fact that Swain understands what he's reading makes it much easier to follow Heidegger's train of thought, and more enjoyable. I especially appreciated the little touches, like the fact that he knows how to pronounce the occasional German, Greek, and Latin correctly. Just a stellar job by the reader. The book itself is absolutely brilliant, and if you steep in the thinking of Division One long enough it can totally transform your outlook on philosophy.

Congrats!

A locução, e a tradução para o inglês, estão ótimas!
O livro é fenomenal. Traz luz ao entendimento de que o que enxergamos no dia a dia (mundialidade) de uma forma muito diferente.

Audacious Ukemi

In terms of scale of ambition, quality of content, and quality of execution, Ukemi has long surpassed Naxos to say nothing of the rest.

Great

I have not yet "read" this audio. But just the fact that this book now is available as audio is 5 big stars.

Amazing performance!!

Haven't finished the book, but just have to say that Martyn Swain does an amazing job reading this. Heidegger is inherently difficult to understand, because his concepts are deep and require a lot of thought. But I find that Heidegger's way of expressing himself often adds to the burden. Swain reads in a way that makes the structure of each sentence clear, leaving the reader free to think about Heidegger's meaning rather than his sentence structure.

Before hearing this performance of B&T, I could not imagine how it would be possible to listen to such a dense text in a recording. But I'm finding that, to my amazement, that it's actually easier to follow the recording than the printed text. Mr Swain's reading brings out the structure of Heidegger's ideas with beautiful clarity. Add to that, that Mr Swain pronounces German and Greek fluently, and I think he deserves some kind of a medal. Bravo!

One sentence is missing

If you listen to the audiobook against the hard copy, you will find that on page 105, for section 16, the narration misses one sentence: "it is in the "there' before anyone has observed or ascertained it."

In general, it is an excellent audiobook.

Wonderful book. Clipped, persnickety reader.

It's odd how un-difficult it is to follow BT on audio when you get accustomed to the terminology and have a quiet and pleasant reading environment in which to listen. That said, it seems very odd that Martyn Swain was chosen to read a text meant to undermine all that is pretentious and superfluous in ordinary life to get back to the fundamental elements of experience. Heidegger was not a fan of the manners and affectations of the British upperclass, which is still another reason why his selection was odd.

BT attempts to take on the history of western metaphysics as a project of covering over what was immediate and alive in human experience, resulting in a certain technological regime of Modernity and arguably what comes after, posthuman concepts that push the linguistic materials of our present, still-emerging Techne to the level of an all-encompassing prison.

The ideas of BT look at the experience of anxiety as a natural feeling of falling in relation to authentic modes of being that transcend language and linguistic conceptions to break through to the core of human potentiality and a living sense of wonder on the Earth. In so doing, Heidegger is ultimately trying to achieve what Nietzsche arguably fails at: the redemption of the Earth as a scene of something heroically worthwhile, which in this case, is the charted victory of the authentically heroic over the mundane compromise of Modernity's many vapid, unimaginative and utterly life-annulling "certainties", among which are the disregard for the ancient virtues, and therefore all virtuous action, and such as "dangerously" seeing the Real without the aid of our now-digitized precession of the image of what is said to have happened, said by and for the They, as what One does, what One thinks, based upon what One has heard -- that all-encompassing, abstract One that is heard everywhere and sees nothing for what it ever is for the subject in its true and utterly private authenticity.

Amazing narration

Just seconding what others have said about Martyn Swain's narration. This is an incredibly difficult book, in a torturous translation from equally tortuous German. Swain reads in a way that makes the structure of each long and winding sentence clear, including the many German and Greek parentheses (all with translation). It's a kind of miracle. I never would have believed an audio of this book could be intelligible without hearing for myself. This man is a master of the craft of reading.

LOVE IT!!!

Please please please, same narrator please narrate Heidegger's "Basic Problems of Phenomenology" pretty please : )

absorb this info

This is a must understand concept in modern times. Think of time as a living creature