This treatise by the great German philosopher of the 20th century, which was written shortly after the completion of his main work of the middle period of his reflection, the "Contributions to Philosophy" (1936-1938), consists of a thorough and profound interpretation of the first chapter of Book II of Aristotle's "Physics". The importance of this interpretation is already evident from the fact that Heidegger declares from the very beginning that he considers this work of Aristotle to be the "hidden reference book of all Western philosophy".

The object of Heidegger's interpretation is the central position of Aristotelian philosophy regarding nature, namely that nature is the "principle of motion of all things by nature". The thorough analysis of this position, as developed in the aforementioned chapter of the "Physics", allows Heidegger to highlight the, according to his interpretation, authentic content of the central concepts of Aristotelian ontology, such as substance, category, truth and reason, matter and form, potentiality, actuality, and so on. Aristotelian ontology and natural philosophy appear, on the one hand, as the culmination of Greek thought, but on the other hand, already as the echo of the "first principle" of the great pre-Socratic philosophers.

The treatise "On the Essence and Concept of Nature" offers the Greek reader the opportunity to approach the reflection of the later Heidegger from the particular perspective of his confrontation with Aristotelian ontology, while also getting to know this ontology in its fruitful dialogue with the thought of one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century. The extensive prefaces and numerous explanatory comments by the translator aim to facilitate the Greek reader's access to this concise and profound philosophical text.