The Multi-interlingual Translation from “Vernehmen” to “觉知”: On the Deconstruction of the Transcendental Meaning of Metaphysics by Martin Heidegger’s Ontological Hermeneutics

Abstract: Throughout the development of Western hermeneutics, the metaphysical tradition, which dominates the meaning of the origin of the world, makes the ultimate transcendental meaning for covering the phenomenal world as well as the constitution of its moral order. The target of Martin Heidegger’s ontological hermeneutics is the transcendental meaning of “εἶναι” (Sein/Being) originated from Parmenides of Elea. After Sein und Zeit, Heidegger further discussed his ontological hermeneutics in several articles in Identität und Differenz, in order to explore the identity and difference between the meanings of “Sein” and “Dasein”. While translating Parmenides’ famous ancient Greek proverb into German, Heidegger rendered “νοεῖν” into “Vernehmen”, and he took “Denken”/“thinking” as an apposition to give the limited interpretation of meaning to prove the identity of the three concepts, “νοεῖν”, “Vernehmen” and “Denken”. However, Chinese scholars have translated “Vernehmen” into “觉知”, a Chinese concept derived from the Buddhist sutras Abhidharma Mahāvibhāṣā Śāstra. In reality, “Vernehmen” and “觉知” are two very different culturally-loaded words. Translations of these two concepts show creativity of rewriting through mistranlation. It is necessary to remind researchers who engage in the study of literary hermeneutics that what Heidegger’s ontological hermeneutics focuses on is the meaning of identity or difference between noumenon and phenomenon, not the text, especially not the literary text and its aesthetic meaning.