The essence of truth

pp. 125-138

in: Karsten Harries, Art matters, Berlin, Springer, 2009

Abstract

As Heidegger reminds us in the epilogue to "The Origin of the Work of Art," Hegel claims that for us art in its highest sense is a thing of the past: thought and reflection have overtaken the fine arts: we who are truly of today no longer can take seriously art's claim to serve the truth. Challenging Hegel, Heidegger insists on a more intimate connection between truth and art, insists on that connection, even as he recognizes all that argues against it. What is at stake for Heidegger is, as we have seen, first of all not just or even primarily the future and, more especially, the significance of art, but the happening of truth and its significance. Challenging Hegel, Heidegger wants to understand art once more as the highest manner in which truth obtains existence for itself.