Sinn, Symbol, Religion

Markus Höfner analyzes Ernst Cassirer's and Martin Heidegger's phenomenology of religion with regard to their theory of signs. Focusing on the time before the Davos disputation in 1929, he emphasizes the neo-Kantian background of Cassirer and Heidegger. The author explains how their two opposite approaches can be seen as different answers to common problems. Against this backdrop, Cassirer's phenomenology of religion is analyzed as a part of his philosophy of culture and contrasted with the approach of a phenomenology of religion which Heidegger develops in his early Freiburg lectures. By using this method, the author develops a critical dialogue between the two approaches, a dialogue which provides new perspectives for the contemporary philosophy of religion.
This work was awarded the John Templeton Award for Theological Promise 2009.