THINKING AND POETIZING THE USELESS: HEIDEGGER AND MANOEL DE BARROS

Abstract

This article aims to approach the thinking of the philosopher Martin Heidegger and the poetizing of the poet Manoel de Barros. The guiding thread of the analysis deals with the relationship between the useful and the useless. Both are present in Heidegger's philosophy and Manoel de Barros' poetry. The following question permeates the study: taking as a starting point the activity of (meditative) thinking in Heidegger and poetry (the poetry of uselessness) in Manoel de Barros, how can we place the act of thinking outside the merely instrumental and utilitarian sphere, in which we usually ground all our actions in contemporaneity? Moreover, how can Heidegger's philosophy and Manoel de Barros' poetry bring light to this way of thinking and acting? What are the characteristic traits that approximate both philosopher and poet? This leads us to suppose that what unites philosophy and poetry, as is the case for both Heidegger and Manoel de Barros, goes far beyond language. The path taken here involves an argumentative and comparative construction that interweaves both authors and finds its theoretical foundation in the authors' main works dealing with the question of usefulness and useless, from both a philosophical and a poetical standpoint.