Abstract

The divide between the analytic and the continental philosophical traditions has been a major preoccupation of philosophers and historians of philosophy in the past few decades. Many attempts have been made to bridge the gap between the two traditions. Appel, Rorty, Cavell, and others, for example, have drawn to our attention profound affinities between Wittgenstein and Heidegger. But until now, it has nonetheless seemed that the divide remained firmly entrenched with respect to the thought of Heidegger and Carnap, between whom there still appears to be deep alienation. Heidegger and Carnap themselves encouraged this view. Carnap’s notorious attack on Heidegger left no possibility of dialogue between the two, and for Heidegger, the conflict with Carnap continued to be momentous even in the sixties. He described the conflict between himself and Carnap as embodying the “most extreme counterpositions” of the time.