Heidegger’s turn to philosophy was triggered by reading Husserl and Aristotle

Evidence

As he grew up, Heidegger attended seminary schools, then went to Freiburg where he studied divinity. But meanwhile, his encounter with Brentano’s thesis led him to immerse himself in Aristotle, and to feel drawn towards philosophical rather than theological inquiry. He picked up the Freiburg university library’s copy of Husserl’s Logical Investigations, borrowed it, and kept it in his room for two years. He was fascinated to see that Husserl’s philosophy took no account of God. (Husserl, although a Christian, kept his faith separate from his work.) Heidegger studied Husserl’s method of proceeding by close description and attention to phenomena. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café, 183

Categorization

• XREF: This maps the lineage from Brentano through Husserl to Heidegger, useful for situating how phenomenology begat existentialism. — connects to: Brentano’s Aristotle thesis diverted Heidegger toward Being while other Brentano work turned Husserl inward — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 175