Anaximandro. el principio del pensamiento occidental. Las conferencias de Heidegger de 1932

The lessons of 1932 devoted to Anaximander and Parmenides were held at a particularly relevant moment in the development of Heidegger’s philosophy. It is our purpose in this article to emphasize the fact that understanding these texts is closely linked to the moment in which they were written. In this article we focus exclusively on the lessons concerning Anaximander. Despite the fact that it is the first time that Heidegger deals entirely with a Presocratic author, the 1932 lessons were the last to be published of the series of writings in which Heidegger looks into these philosophers. The author suggests a vision of the “Greeks” and the “beginning of thinking” characterized by “simplicity” and “greatness”, which contrast with the aging and smallness of contemporary man. “We” are the obstacle to under-stand the beginning and, therefore, only the transformation of “us” could pave the way to a primordial thought. This transformation implies overcoming the forces that altered and distorted the powerful thinking of the beginning: Romanity, Christianity and Judaism. Although direct allusions to a political transformation are articulated only after 1933, the historical and political implications of the 1932 writings are difficult to ignore. The article seeks to highlight the significance of Heidegger’s ideas in 1932 and relate them to those expressed a few months later.