Phusis

"Phusis" was an Ancient Greek word often translated as "birth" or "nature". The term represents a slightly different transcription from the term "physis". Martin Heidegger a German phenomenologist and proto-existentialist, made the argument in "An Introduction to Metaphysics" that this translation of phusis, is an oversimplication and narrowing of the original dynamism of the term that harms our understanding of early Greek philosophy. Heidegger translated phusis as the 'emerging-abiding-sway,' arguing that it provided a more complex and accurate understanding of existence than the earlier translation. The problem, for Heidegger, is that translators view this Greek term (among others) through the lenses provided by later philosophy. Implicit in such a perspective is the belief that modern thinkers are more advanced than earlier thinkers. For Heidegger, early Greek philosophy authentically captured the dynamism of Being, an understanding that became ossified through the layers of metaphysical systematization that was imposed upon it with the passing of time.

ee also

*Poiesis
*Techne