Letter of Pharisaism

Abstract

Apparently, in his later years, Heidegger confessed to his assistant: “I still haven’t let the cats out of the bag” (“die Katze noch gar nicht aus dem Sack gelassen”). The saying is linked to another common manner of speaking in Germany: “ich kaufe doch nicht die Katze im Sack”, that is, “Surely I won’t buy the cat in the bag” (i.e. without seeing it), which refers to the times when people would pass off cats as rabbits at the market. In short, “I will not buy a pig in a poke.” Heidegger’s statement can be understood as follows: the situation is still unclear, there is still something in store. And maybe: “I have not spilled the beans yet.”