--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism…" description: "\"“Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but a description of the world from which God is absent.”\" — William Barrett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png" --- # Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but… ![“Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but a description of the world from which God is absent.” quote by William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png) > ““Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but a description of the world from which God is absent.”” [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Barrett explains Heidegger’s thought as describing a world where God is not present, positioning it beyond traditional theism or atheism. **In simple terms:** Heidegger describes a god‑absent world. Key Takeaway Consider non‑theistic perspectives. Themes philosophy theology existentialism Mood introspective theoretical Type philosophical theological When to use this quote - academic study - personal belief - cultural analysis Key Concepts ontology secularism Questions to Reflect On - What does a god‑absent worldview mean for you? - How does this view affect moral frameworks? A Different Perspective May overlook spiritual dimensions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Atheism Theism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism-theism-1843480/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heidegger/) [Heidegger Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heidegger-philosophy-3490338/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Philosophy Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-atheism-2430259/) [Theism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theism/) ## Related quotes > [If one believes in a god, one is a Theist. If one does not believe in a god, then one is an A-theist —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chapman-cohen/if-one-believes-in-a-god-one-is-a-theist-if-one-does-not-believe-in-a/) [Chapman Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chapman-cohen/) > [Consciously or unconsciously, most theists see in gods and devils, heaven and hell, reward and punishment, a whip to lash the people into obedience,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/consciously-or-unconsciously-most-theists-see-in-gods-and-devils-2/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The philosophy of Atheism has its root in the earth, in this life; its aim is the emancipation of the human race from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-philosophy-of-atheism-has-its-root-in-the-earth-in-this-life-its/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The triumph of the philosophy of Atheism is to free man from the nightmare of gods; it means the dissolution of the phantoms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-triumph-of-the-philosophy-of-atheism-is-to-free-man-from-the/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [The philosophy of Atheism represents a concept of life without any metaphysical Beyond or Divine Regulator. It is the concept of an actual, real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/the-philosophy-of-atheism-represents-a-concept-of-life-without-any/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [Philosophy may serve as the bridge between theology and science. All atheism is a philosophy, but not all philosophy is atheism. Philosophy ('love of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/philosophy-may-serve-as-the-bridge-between-theology-and-science-all/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [When I began my career as a cosmologist some twenty years ago, I was a convinced atheist. I never in my wildest dreams imagined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-j-tipler/when-i-began-my-career-as-a-cosmologist-some-twenty-years-ago-i-was-a/) [Frank J. Tipler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-j-tipler/) > [The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God. . . Theism is a deep-seated conviction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/the-difference-between-theism-and-nontheism-is-not-whether-one-does/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [It turns out that the word atheism means much less than I had thought. It is merely the lack of theism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-barker/it-turns-out-that-the-word-atheism-means-much-less-than-i-had-thought/) [Dan Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-barker/) > [“Philosophy, that leaned on Heaven before, Shrinks to her second cause, and is no more.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/philosophy-that-leaned-on-heaven-before-shrinks-to-her-second-cause/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [“The wrong approaches to faith and to skepticism are equally detrimental to the path. For the former declares its answers too soon and is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-wrong-approaches-to-faith-and-to-skepticism-are-equally/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/with-or-without-religion-you-would-have-good-people-doing-good-things/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [“God is logic's corpse, a wound in reason, grammar's empty skin. (1998) It is as obvious to my left brain that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamey-hecht/god-is-logic-s-corpse-a-wound-in-reason-grammar-s-empty-skin-1998-it/) [Jamey Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamey-hecht/) > [Intellect, at its best, can make you agnostic. Being theist or atheist is still a matter of choice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/intellect-at-its-best-can-make-you-agnostic-being-theist-or-atheist/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [When life is so harsh that a man loses all hope in himself, then he raises his eyes to a shining rock, worshipping it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/when-life-is-so-harsh-that-a-man-loses-all-hope-in-himself-then-he/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) ## More by William Barrett > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [We must be free for the truth; and conversely, to be able to be open toward the truth may be our deepest freedom as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-must-be-free-for-the-truth-and-conversely-to-be-able-to-be-open/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“When faith is full, it dares to express its anger, for faith is the openness of the whole man toward his God, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/when-faith-is-full-it-dares-to-express-its-anger-for-faith-is-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Much like tobacco companies want to keep smokers dependent on their deadly product, the oil industry wants to keep California dependent on oil –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/much-like-tobacco-companies-want-to-keep-smokers-dependent-on-their/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The more severely he struggles to hold on to the primal face-to-face relation with God, the more tenuous this becomes, until in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-more-severely-he-struggles-to-hold-on-to-the-primal-face-to-face/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“If science could comprehend all phenomena so that eventually in a thoroughly rational society human beings became as predictable as cogs in a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/if-science-could-comprehend-all-phenomena-so-that-eventually-in-a/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To be rational is not the same as to be reasonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-be-rational-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-reasonable/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“Certainly, we can no longer look upon the canon of Western art - Greco-Roman as revived, extended, and graced by the Renaissance - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/certainly-we-can-no-longer-look-upon-the-canon-of-western-art-greco/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We cannot define ourselves without negating the alternatives that we do not become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-cannot-define-ourselves-without-negating-the-alternatives-that-we/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We have to be who we are, however we may seek eventually to transform ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-have-to-be-who-we-are-however-we-may-seek-eventually-to-transform/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [The bond that attaches us to the life outside ourselves is the same bond that holds us to our own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-bond-that-attaches-us-to-the-life-outside-ourselves-is-the-same/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The Greek word for “I know,” oida, is the perfect of the verb “to see” and means “I have seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-greek-word-for-i-know-oida-is-the-perfect-of-the-verb-to-see-and/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To the other person, who looks at me from the outside, I seem an object, a thing; my subjectivity with its inner freedom escapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-the-other-person-who-looks-at-me-from-the-outside-i-seem-an-object/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) [Explore all 46 William Barrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [No philosophy, no religion, has ever brought so glad a message to the world as this good news of Atheism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/no-philosophy-no-religion-has-ever-brought-so-glad-a-message-to-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [God speaks through me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/god-speaks-through-me/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [You cannot ... transmute some incoherent mixture of words into sense merely by introducing the three-letter word "God" to be its grammatical subject.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-flew/you-cannot-transmute-some-incoherent-mixture-of-words-into-sense/) [Antony Flew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-flew/) > [Many humanists have argued that happiness involves a combination of hedonism and creative moral development; that an exuberant life fuses excellence and enjoyment, meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kurtz/many-humanists-have-argued-that-happiness-involves-a-combination-of/) [Paul Kurtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kurtz/) > [If, with all the time at my disposal, with all the wealth of the resources of this vast universe, to do with as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/if-with-all-the-time-at-my-disposal-with-all-the-wealth-of-the/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Honest investigation is utterly impossible within the pale of any church, for the reason, that if you think the church is right you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/honest-investigation-is-utterly-impossible-within-the-pale-of-any/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) [Browse all 4,769 Atheism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but a description of the world from which God is absent.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Barrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheism-nor-theism-but-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheism-nor-theism-but-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/william-barrett-14440_atheism_heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheis_1996556.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor theism, but a description of the world from which God is absent.” — William Barrett", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Barrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Heidegger’s philosophy is neither atheism nor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheism-nor-theism-but-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/heidegger-s-philosophy-is-neither-atheism-nor-theism-but-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```