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...philosophy will not be able to effect an immediate transformation of the present condition of the world. This is not only true of philosophy, but of all merely human thought and endeavor. Only a god can save us. The sole possibility that is left for us is to prepare a sort of readiness, through thinking and poeticizing, for the appearance of the god or for the absence of the god in the time of foundering Untergang for in the face of the god who is absent, we founder. Only a God Can Save Us.

Martin Heidegger#9

PhilosophyAgencyDivinityExistentialismHopeTheology

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About this quote

What does it mean?
Human thought cannot instantly fix the world's problems. Only a divine force might save us, but we must prepare through thinking and art for either their arrival or absence.
In plain terms
Human effort alone cannot solve global crises quickly; we must prepare spiritually for a higher power or the reality of its absence.
What can you take from it?
Prepare through thought and art for a divine presence or the reality of its absence.

Where it applies

  • crisis moments
  • philosophical reflection
  • spiritual doubt

Putting it to work

  • meditation on limits
  • cultural preparation
  • existential writing

Questions to consider

  • What does it mean to prepare for a god who may never come?
  • How do you respond when human effort fails?

Another view

The claim that only a god can save us dismisses human agency and collective action.

More from Martin Heidegger

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  2. The human body is essentially something other than an animal organism.

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  3. 'Making itself intelligible is suicide for philosophy' (from Contributions to Philosophy from Enowning, full quote:

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