The secret according to Heidegger and "the purloined letter" by poe

Rudolf Bernet

pp. 353-371

in: Jeffrey Bloechl (ed), Heidegger between Being and language, Continental Philosophy Review 47, 2014.

Abstract

Heidegger's lecture course on "Parmenides" (1942/1943) lays strong emphasis on the dimension of lethe in truth (aletheia). Such a withdrawal belonging to unconcealment should not be confused with a dissembling or hiding (pseudos). A concealment pertaining to the presence of a thing can be illustrated by means of a phenomenological description of oblivion, anamnesis, the rare, the gift and the secret. Especially Heidegger's account of an "open secret" lends itself to a philosophical interpretation of Poe's "The Purloined Letter". Dupin recurrently meditates on the right way of keeping a secret and mocks the police for confusing lethe with pseudos. Incidentally, stealing is shown to be no less a form of unconcealment than the gift. Poe's description of how and where The Purloined Letter is openly present in the minister's study sheds light on how a thing can remain secret by giving way to other things.

Cited authors

Heidegger Martin