A crucial work for understanding a major turning point in Heidegger's thought. and "...an important addition to the translations of Heidegger's lecture-courses. and " - International Philosophical Quarterly and "The translators of these lectures have succeeded splendidly in giving readers an intimation of the tensely insistent tone of the original German. Heidegger's concern with a linguistic preconsciousness and u0026 with our entrancement before the enigma of existence remains intensely contemporary. and " - Choice and "There is much that is new and valuable in this book, and u0026 McNeill and u0026 Walker's faithful translation makes it very accessible. and " - Review of Metaphysics and "Whoever thought that Heidegger...has no surprises left in him had better read this volume. If its rhetoric is 'hard and u0026 heavy' its thought is even harder and u0026 essentially more daring than Heideggerians ever imagined Heidegger could be. and " - David Farrell KrellFirst published in German in 1983 as volume 29 30 of Heidegger's collected works, The Fundamental Concepts of Metaphysics includes an extended treatment of the history of metaphysics and u0026 an elaboration of a philosophy of life and u0026 nature. Heidegger's concepts of organism, animal behavior and u0026 environment are uniquely developed and u0026 defined with intensity.William McNeill is Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University. He is co-translator (with Julia Davis) of Holderlin's Hymn and "The Ister and " by Martin Heidegger. Nicholas Walker is Research Fellow in philosophy and literature at Magdalene College, Cambridge.Studies in Continental Thought: John Sallis, general editor