The Culmination

"By far the deepest and most thorough study of Heidegger's reading of Hegel and its centrality to his account of the history of metaphysics." —Taylor Carman, Barnard College

A provocative reassessment of Heidegger's critique of German Idealism from one of the tradition's foremost interpreters.


Heidegger claimed that Western philosophy ended—failed, even—in the German Idealist tradition. In The Culmination, Robert B. Pippin explores the ramifications of this charge through a masterful survey of Western philosophy, especially Heidegger's critiques of Hegel and Kant. Pippin argues that Heidegger's basic concern was to determine sources of meaning for human life, particularly those that had been obscured by Western philosophy's attention to reason. The Culmination offers a new interpretation of Heidegger, German Idealism, and the fate of Western rationalism.


"Can thought explain why it cares about what it thinks? Can the mind account for its own minding? Drawing on his decades of reflection on German Idealism, Pippin supports Heidegger's answer: no. The implications for the history of philosophy and for its future are profound." —Richard Polt, Xavier University


"The Culmination is rich and complex and . . . fascinating." —European Journal of Philosophy

"An indispensable resource for anyone concerned about the future of philosophy." —Steven Crowell, Rice University