Being and Time previous philosophies that had become entrenched and hidden within the theoretical attitude of the metaphysics of presence. This use of the word "Destruktion" is meant to signify not a negative operation but rather a positive transformation or recovery. In "Being and Time" Heidegger briefly undertakes a destructuring of the philosophy of René Descartes, but the second volume, which was intended to be a "Destruktion" of Western philosophy in all its stages, was never written. In later works Heidegger uses this approach to interpret the philosophies of Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, and Plato, among others. "Being and Time" is the major achievement
John Gray (philosopher) John Gray (philosopher) John Nicholas Gray (born 17 April 1948) is an English political philosopher with interests in analytic philosophy and the history of ideas. He retired in 2008 as School Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Gray contributes regularly to "The Guardian", "The Times Literary Supplement" and the "New Statesman", where he is the lead book reviewer. He is an atheist. Gray has written several influential books, including "" (1998), which argues that free market globalization is an unstable Enlightenment project currently in the process of disintegration; "Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans