I take it that one of the reasons Heidegger wrote [Discourse on Thinking] was to invite us to think. And if we are aware of the difficulties of reading and thinking, we might fairly assume that Heidegger was aware of them too. Indeed, we may assume he was more aware of them than most of us are. Further, if I or anyone else claims to be able to help us to read Heidegger, we need to discover some clues as to how to go about it and then pass these on. I say discover, rather than invent, because I believe Heidegger himself shows us how he is to be read.
Parts of Discourse on Thinking do not make obvious sense, but I contend that they do make sense. The book translated as Discourse on Thinking has two parts: a "Memorial Address" and a "Conversation on a Country Path About Thinking." I want to show that the book is reflexive: "MA" tells us how to read "C"; it provides us with pointers which help us to make our way through the conversation and to think along with the scholar, scientist, and teacher whose conversation it is. Note, I am not contending that "MA" only tells us how to read, or that "C" is merely raw material for the approach. No. But in addition to being more, they are at least this. And that is enough for my modest task. (pp. 83-4)
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