Plato, Heidegger and the Metaphysical Foundations of Mathematics and Poetry

This paper examines the complex relationship between metaphysics, poetry, and mathematics through Heidegger’s reading of Plato. Plato’s dialogues reveal a deep ambivalence toward poetry: he recognizes its divine origin but condemns its irrationality. Heidegger challenges traditional readings of Plato to critique philosophy’s concealment of Being. Poetry remains tied to nature’s unpredictability, while mathematics becomes a self-grounding access to the Forms. This shift marks the rise of a metaphysics of technicity, which suppresses the chthonic nature of poetry in favor of rational control and abstraction.