In this admirable book, Lee Braver sets out to bring out the parallels on various levels and on a wide range of subjects in the work of Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein, two elusive, and idiosyncratic thinkers. Thanks to his amazing grasp of what may well be the total works of Martin Heidegger and of Ludwig Wittgenstein, (as well as the views of a vast selection of relevant commentators) he is able to bring out deep parallels in the thought of these two thinkers. Indeed, Braver's unlikely project turns out to be a great success. Each of these difficult thinkers becomes more intelligible and convincing when read in the light of the other.
Hubert L. Dreyfus, Professor of Philosophy in the Graduate School, University of California, Berkeley
Continuing the project of his, A Thing of this World, Lee Braver once again shows how the traditions of analytic and continental philosophy overlap. Groundless Ground, however, demonstrates this philosophical intersection by investigating, in depth and in the clearest terms, the thought of Martin Heidegger and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Braver makes a strong argument not for moving beyond the analytic and continental traditions. Rather, Braver moves contemporary philosophy forward, beyond idealism and realism, by means of the thought of 'original finitude.' There can be no question that Groundless Ground is an important book.
Leonard Lawlor, Sparks Professor of Philosophy, Penn State University
A well-researched study for those interested in the intersections between analytic and continental philosophy, and it continues Braver's quest for a new way of doing philosophy as a kind of hybrid enterprise composed of those two strands.
Review of Metaphysics
Few have attempted to read [Heidegger and Wittgenstein] so as to bring them into productive dialogue. Lee Braver's publication is the latest of these relatively rare efforts.
Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
With his recent work on Wittgenstein and Heidegger, Lee Braver has accomplished something remarkable: he has given us an account of two of the past century's most challenging thinkers that is as insightful and provocative as it is eminently readable...a joy to read...This is an exciting a fertile work, an invaluable reference for anyone interested in the emerging dialogue between the continental and analytic traditions.
Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology
The book is a pleasure to read, due both to its clarity and its humor. Braver has mastered a vast primary and secondary literature; the book is truly a scholarly tour de force. It is also rare to find a philosopher who is fluent in both philosophical traditions. This is a terrific book, and it is recommended for anyone interested in Wittgenstein or Heidegger, the analytic-continental schism, and twentieth-century attempts to overcome the traditional philosophical project.
Philosophy in Review
Lee Braver's Groundless Grounds is an ambitious and groundbreaking volume for making comparisons of two intellectual giants seldom juxtaposed...Braver's project, which in my estimation succeeds well, is to bridge what each thinking was doing, finding parallels in Wittgenstein and Heidegger where former scholars saw distinct, possibly incommensurable, ideas and approaches.
Journal of Applied Hermeneutics
