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I. MartinHeidegger,hisbeingsand times
Lecultedelaperfectionportetoujoursprfrerlamystificationl'authenticit.
PaulAris
Wovonmannichtsprechenkann,darbermumanschweigen.
LudwigWittgenstein
1. StartingfromAthensandJerusalem
2. OnTemporalizingBeingandtemporalizingbeing
3. OntheWaytoOneing
4. Times: Temporalitt,Zeitlichkeit
5. SeinundZeit,BeingandTime:theBook
6. DaseinandZeitlichkeit:Everydaytime
7. Appendix1:SomeOrigins
8. Appendix2:HeideggerandtheNazis
1. StartingfromAthensandJerusalem
1.1 TheGreekgodorpersonification Chronos(Time)wassaidtobeoneofthe
Protogonoi,"thefirstbornimmortalswhoseformsmadeuptheveryfabricofthe
universe". AccordingtoHesiodinhisTheogony,thefirstoftheProtogonoiwas
Chaos. ThewordChaosisrelatedtoaGreekverbmeaning"tobewideopen","to
gape". ItisoftentranslatedasTheVoidorNothingnessorNothing.butsometimes
asInfiniteSpace. ChaosgavebirthtoGaia(World,Earth),Tartaros
(Underworld,Hell)andEros(Love). Gaia bore Ouranos(Sky,Heaven). Gaia lay
with Ouranos,herson. OneoftheirchildrenwasChronos(Time),saidtohave
beenawilygodwhohatedhisfatherOuranos. AtthebiddingofhismotherGaia,
ChronosundertooktoambushandcastratehisfatherOuranoswhileOuranoswas
matingwith Gaia. ThuswehaveEarthgivingbirthto Sky,ageocentrichypothesis,
andSky givingbirthtoTime,thusrelating Timetothemovementofcelestialobjects
relativetotheearth. Question: Why didTimehateSky (Heaven)?
1.2. IntheanonymousOrphicRhapsodies,itissaidthatChronos(Time)begot
Aither(Light)andChaos(Space,Nothingness),andthen Chronosmadeoutof
Chaosabrightwhiteeggfromwhichthegod(orform)Phanes(Generation) was
born(orhatched). Propagatinglifewasborn. ThusTimebegetsChaos,ratherthan
theotherwayaround.
1.3. Inthebookof Genesis,itissaidthat"Inthebeginning,Godcreatedtheheaven
[Ouranos?]andtheEarth[Gaia?]. Andtheearthwaswithoutform[no
Protogonoi?],andvoidanddarkness[Chaos?]wasuponthefaceofthedeep. And
theSpiritofGodmoveduponthefaceofthewaters. AndGodsaid,Lettherebelight
andtherewaslight." InHesiod'sTheogony,therewerethegodsErebos(Darkness)
andNyx (Night),childrenof Chaos. ErebosandNyxmated,andproducedAither
(Light)andHemmerai(Day). IntheGenesisaccount,Timeisleftimplicit. There
Goddividesthelightfromthedarkness,andcallsthelightDay andthedarkness
Night,"andtheeveningandthemorningwerethefirstday".
1.4. ThisslightexcursionintosourcesofWesterncultureismeanttosetamoodfora
lookintoMartinHeidegger'sworkandlife. InHeidegger'sSeinundZeit(1927,
translatedasBeingandTime,1962and1996),hearguesonbehalfofatemporal
interpretationofSein(Being). Heideggercontrastshisstandpointwithtraditional
Westernviewsinwhich Seinor BeingortheOneistakentobeTimeless.TheOne
wassaidtotranscendTimeandChange,andwiththeManywhich Cometobeand
Passaway,whicharegeneratedandcorrupted. SometimesBeingisdescribedas
eternal.. InEnglish,theword"eternal"isambiguous. SometimesitreferstoNever
endingTime,a Timewithoutendandperhapswithoutbeginning,butsometimesit
referstotranscendenceoftime.
1.5. HereisasampleofthinkingaboutBeingfromAristotle'sPhysics:
Aristotle.Physics.i.4187a12: Forsomewhoholdthatthereal,theunderlying
substance,isaunity,eitheroneofthethree[elements]orsomethingelsethatis
denserthanfireandmorerarefiedthanair,teachthatotherthingsaregeneratedby
condensationandrarefaction...20.Andothersbelievethatexistingoppositesare
separatedfromtheunity,asAnaximandersays,andthosealsowhosaythatunityand
multiplicityexist,asEmpedoclesandAnaxagorasfortheseseparateotherthings
fromthemixture.
Physics.iii.4203b7: Thereisnobeginningoftheinfinite,forinthatcaseitwould
haveanend.Butitiswithoutbeginningandindestructible,asbeingasortoffirst
principleforitisnecessarythatwhatevercomesintoexistenceshouldhaveanend,
andthereisaconclusionofalldestruction.Whereforeaswesay,thereisnofirst
principleofthis[i.e.theinfinite],butititselfseemstobethefirstprincipleofall
otherthingsandtosurroundallandtodirectall,astheysaywhothinkthatthereare
noothercausesbesidestheinfinite(suchasmind,orfriendship),butthatititselfis
divineforitisimmortalandindestructible,asAnaximanderandmostofthe
physicistssay.
Simplicius,commentingon Phys.32r150,20: Thereisanothermethod,according
towhichtheydonotattributechangetomatteritself,nordotheysupposethat
generationtakesplacebyatransformationoftheunderlyingsubstance,butby
separationfortheoppositesexistinginthesubstancewhichisinfinitematterare
separated,accordingtoAnaximander,whowastheearliestthinkertocallthe
underlyingsubstancethefirstprinciple.Andtheoppositesareheatandcold,dryand
moist,andtherest."
1.6. Suchconceptsof BeingweresubsequentlyinterpretedbyJewish,Christianand
Islamicthinkers,andincorporatedinvariouswaysintotheirreligions. The
following,forexample,istakenfromanarticleonAristotleintheCatholic
EncyclopediaontheInternetatnewadvent.org.
ToprovethatthereisaSupremeCauseisoneofthetasksofmetaphysicsthe
TheologicScience.AndthisAristotleundertakestodoinseveralportionsofhiswork
onFirstPhilosophy.Inthe"Physics"headoptsandimprovesonSocrates's
teleologicalargument,themajorpremiseofwhichis,"Whateverexistsforauseful
purposemustbetheworkofanintelligence".Inthesametreatise,hearguesthat,
althoughmotioniseternal,therecannotbeaninfiniteseriesofmoversandofthings
moved,that,therefore,theremustbeone,thefirstintheseries,whichisunmoved,to
protonkinounakinetonprimummovensimmobile.Inthe"Metaphysics"hetakesthe
standthattheactualisofitsnatureantecedenttothepotential,thatconsequently,
beforeallmatter,andallcompositionofmatterandform,ofpotentialityand
actuality,theremusthaveexistedaBeingWhoispureactuality,andWhoselifeis
selfcontemplativethought(noesisnoeseos).TheSupremeBeingimpartedmovement
totheuniversebymovingtheFirstHeaven,themovement,however,emanatedfrom
theFirstCauseasdesirableinotherwords,theFirstHeaven,attractedbythe
desirabilityoftheSupremeBeing"asthesoulisattractedbybeauty",wassetin
motion,andimparteditsmotiontothelowerspheresandthus,ultimately,toour
terrestrialworld.AccordingtothistheoryGodneverleavestheeternalreposein
whichHisblessednessconsists.Willandintellectareincompatiblewiththeeternal
unchangeablenessofHisbeing.Sincematter,motion,andtimeareeternal,theworld
iseternal.Yet,itiscaused.Themannerinwhichtheworldoriginatedisnotdefined
inAristotle'sphilosophy.Itseemshazardoustosaythathetaughtthedoctrineof
Creation.Thismuch,however,maysafelybesaid:Helaysdownprincipleswhich,if
carriedtotheirlogicalconclusion,wouldleadtothedoctrinethattheworldwasmade
outofnothing.
1.7. BeforethetimeofAristotle,Parmenideshadsaidinhispoemaboutnature(from
theInternet,editedbyAlanF.RandallfromtranslationsbyDavidGallop,RichardD.
McKirahan,Jr',JonathanBarnes,JohnMansleyRobinsonandothers):
Onepathonlyisleftforustospeakof:thatitis.Onthispaththereareamultitudeof
indicationsthatwhatis,beingungenerated,isalsoimperishable,whole,ofasingle
kind,immovableandcomplete.Norwasitonce,norwillitbe,sinceitis,now,all
together,oneandcontinuous. Forwhatcomingtobeofitwillyouseek?Howand
fromwherediditgrow?Ishallnotpermityoutosayortothinkthatitgrewfrom
whatisnot,foritisnottobesaidorthoughtthatitisnot.Whatnecessitycouldhave
impelledittogrowlaterratherthansooner,ifitbeganfromnothing?Thusitmust
eitherfullybe,orbenotatall.Norwilltheforceofconvictioneverallowanything,
fromwhatis,tocometobesomethingapartfromitselfwhereforeJusticedoesnot
loosenhershacklessoastoallowittocometobeortoperish,butholdsitfast.
1.8 Taking Beingasanameforthe"it"inthefirstsentenceofthisquotationfrom
Parmenides'poem,onemayinfertheBeingishomogeneousorunitary("ofasingle
kind"),and unchanging. WhenMartinHeidegger(18891976)undertooktoelucidate
Being,itappearsthathewishestoretainthehomogeneity,i.e.,theOneness,buton
theotherhand,apparentlytoexplainhowchangecomestobeintheworld,hesees
Being aspossessingakindoftime,thoughnotthekindthathumansexperienceor
measureintheirworld. ThiskindoftimehecallsTemporalitt(temporality). I
proposethatHeidegger'stemporalizing SeinbecalledIsingnessinEnglish. Ichoose
Isingnessratherthanamoreliteral Beingnessinordertoplayontheambiguitiesof
"is",whichItaketobeevenmoreprominentineverydayEnglishthanthe
ambiguitiesoftheterm"be"."Is"sometimesindicatessomethinginalterable,asin
"GodisGod",andsometimesindicatestransienceoractionasin"someoneis
talking",andsometimescarriesothermeanings,andsometimescarriesmorethanone
meaninginasingleoccurrence. Theending"ing"suggeststime,asin"theyare
running"orthe(ambiguous)combination"beingandbecoming". Inotethat
HeideggerintroducedanobsoleteversionofSein,spelledSeyn,inordertowhathe
meantfromwhatpreviousmetaphysiciansmayhavemeantwhentheytalkedabout
SeininmodernGerman.
1.9. HeideggerwasinfluencedwhenyoungbyaworkbyFranzBrentanocalledVon
dermannigfachenBedeutungdesSeiendesnachAristoteles(1862)(translatedasThe
SeveralSensesofBeinginAristotle,1975). ThiswasBrentano'sdoctoral
dissertation. BrentanoremainedadevotedAristotelianallhislife. Accordingto
Aristotle'sMetaphysics,onemaystudy Being asBeing,withoutattendingtoanyofits
parts. Instudyingpartsof ordinarybeing,onebeginswithsomethingwhichistobe
elucidated. Forexample,ingeometryonemaybeginwiththeconceptofcontinuous
magnitudes,arrivedatthroughintuitionorvisualization(Anschauung),andavailable
foraxiomatizationsandapplicationsoflogic. However,inmetaphysics,itisclaimed
bynumerousphilosophers,onecan'tdothissortofthing,sinceBeingiswhatone
necessarilybeginswithinanystudywhatsoever. BrentanosaysthatAristotle
proposedthatonecanconductastudyofBeing by"distinguishingthevarioussenses
whichhefoundthenameofbeingtocomprise,byseparatingtheproperfromthe
impropersenses,andbyexcludingthelatterfrommetaphysicalconsideration." Thus
Brentanoproposedtoshedlighton BeingasBeing byusinghisGermanlanguageto
uncoversuchtermsinclassicalGreekason(being)andousa(substance)andeinai
(tobe),andmanyothertermsoftheancientphilosophersofthatplaceandtime..
1.10. Inhisfirstchapter,entitled"TheFourfoldDistinctionofBeing",Brentanoin
theEnglishtranslationquotesAristotlefromtheMetaphysicsIV.2.1003b6:
Onethingissaidtobebecauseitissubstance,anotherbecauseitisanattributeof
substance,stillanotherbecauseitisaprocesstowardsubstance,orcorruptionof
substance,orprivationofsubstantialformsorqualityofsubstance,orbecauseit
producesorgeneratessubstanceorthatwhichispredicatesofsubstance,orbecauseit
isanegationofsuchathingorofsubstanceitself. Forthisreasonwealsosaythat
nonbeing isnonbeing.
Brentanothenwrites:
Thevarioussortsofbeingwhicharehereenumeratedcanbereducedtofourkinds:
(1)Beingwhichhasnoexistencewhateveroutsidetheunderstanding(privation,
negationstereseis,apophaseis) (2)Thebeingofmovementandgenerationand
corruption(processtowardsubstance,destruction,hodoseisousan,phthora)for
thoughtheseareoutsidethemind,theydonothavecompleteandperfectexistence
(cf.PhysicsIII.1.201a9) (3)Beingwhichhascompletebutdependentexistence
(affectionsofsubstance,qualities,thingsproductiveandgenerativepatheousas,
poietika,genetika) (4)Thebeingofthesubstances(ousa).
1.11. Brentanocontinues:
Anotherenumerationofconceptstowhichtheappellation"being"isattachedin
differentwaysisgivenin Met.VI.2.1026a33. Inthatpassage,onekindofbeingis
saidtobeaccidentalbeing(onkatasynbebekos),anotherbeinginthesenseofbeing
true(onhosalethes),whoseoppositeisnonbeinginthesenseofbeingfalse(meon
hospseudos). Besides,thereissaidtobeanotherkindofbeingwhichdividesintothe
categories,andinadditiontoallofthem,potentialandactual(dynameikatenergea)
being.
BrentanonotesthatthelistofmeaningsinBookIVdoesn'tconsistentlycorrespondto
thelistinBookVI,norwithothersgivenintheMetaphysics. Hedecidesthatthe
variousmeaningsgivenbyAristotlecanallbesubordinatedtothelistgiveninBook
VI,andsetsouttoexplicatethedifferentmeaningsonthebasisofthislist. Onesees
atleastpartoftheoriginofHeidegger'sconcernwithclassicalGreekphilosophers,
andwithattainingknowledgeof Beingandbeingandbeingsthroughbywayof
language.
2. OnTemporalizingBeingandtemporalizingbeing
2.1. Theword"being"inEnglishhasmultiplemeanings,asrelatedtermsdoinall
languages. InEnglish,dependingoncontext,itmayormaynotbeadvantageousto
haveinmindmorethanoneofthesemeanings(senses,references,connotations,
denotations)simultaneously(orclosetogether)wheninterpretingorcommunicating.
Forexample,insuchastatementas"thehouseisbeing built",thereisaverbformof
"being",indicatingthatanactionisoccurring. Thequestion"areyou being served?"
isaquestionaboutaction,presentorfuture. In"thehouseisbeingbuilt"thereis
anotherinflectionoftheverb"tobe"involved,namely"is". "Thehouseisbeing
built"carriesasomewhatdifferentmeaningthan"thehouseisbeingbuilt. Ifwe
leavetheitalicsout,thewrittenstatement"thehouseisbeingbuilt"doesn'tindicate
anyemphasistotranslateintooralspeech. Onemightsayorinterpretthestatement
as"thehouseisbeingbuilt",etc.,whichvaryingemphasisdependingoncontext. Or
theremaynotbeanynotableaddedemphasisatall.
2.2. Hereisasetofdefinitionsofthenoun"being"inaMerriamWebster's
Unabridged [English] Dictionary(2000)(slightlyeditedanditalicsaddedto
emphasizealltheusesoftermscloselyrelatedtotheonebeing(!)defined):
1a:thequalityorstateofexisting:materialorimmaterialexistenceasin"artistic
formcomesintobeing onlywhentwoelementsaresuccessfullyfused"b(1):
somethingthatismoreabstractandhaslessintensionthanexistence,nonexistence,or
any otherpredicateasin"purebeingistheemptyabsolute",usedespeciallyby
Hegelians(2):somethingthatislogicallyconceivableandhencecapableof
existence:somethingthathasormayhavereality(3):somethingthatexistsasan
actualityorentityintimeorspaceorinideaormatter(4):thetotalitycomprising
thepossibleandtheactual:somethingthatiscommontotheobjectswithinaclass
andtotheobjectsnotincludedinthesameclassc:consciousormortalexistence:as
in"themotherwhogavehimhisbeing."
2:thecomplexofphysicalandspiritualqualitiesthatconstituteanindividualasin"it
thusenlargesourbeingandgivesusstrength":"oneofhistory'smostenigmatic
beings"
3a:nowdialectEngland(1):livelihood,living(2):dwellingplaceb:archaic:
stationinlife:standing
4: essenceasin"ananalysisthatprobesthevery beingofreligion"
5a:human,personasin"alwaysawelldressedbeingb:individualasin"human
being","theincrediblebeingsyouseeinthecircus"
2.3 Otherdictionarieswouldgivedifferentlists. Sowouldmostanyphilosopher. In
fact,HeideggerdoesthissortofthinginhisEinfhrungindieMetaphysik,1953,a
reworkedversionofalecturehegavein1935. InanEnglishtranslation(An
IntroductiontoMetaphysics,1987)thereisachaptercalled"OntheGrammarand
EtymologyoftheWord"Being"". HereHeideggerismadetosay(italicswithin
bracketsmarkmyinsertionsintothetranslation):
Whatkindofwordis"being"inrespecttoitswordform? To"being"(dasSein)
correspondgoing,falling,dreaming,etc.(dasGehen,dasFallen,dasTrumen).
Theselinguisticentitiesarenounslikebread,house,grass,thing. Butweobserveat
oncethisdifference:thatwecaneasilyreducethemtotheverbstogo,tofall(gehen,
fallen),etc.,whichdoesnotseemtobepossiblewiththeothergroup. "House"
[Haus],tobesure,hastherelatedform"tohouse"[hausen]:"hehouses(dwells)in
theforest. [UnliketheGerman"hausen","tohouse"inEnglishcustomarilymeans
"toprovidehousing"or"toshelter",andmeans"todwell"onlyinrarecases
nowadays. Cf.Shakespeare: "Grazewhereyouwill,youwillnothousewithme."]
Buttherelationofgrammarandmeaningbetween"going"(dasGehen)and"togo"
(gehen)isdifferentfromthatbetween"thehouse"[dasHaus]and"tohouse"
[hausen]. [Heideggerdoesn'tsaywhy. Hereitappearslikelythat thenoun"das
Gehen"wasformedfromtheverb"gehen",buttheverb"hausen"wasformedfrom
thenoun"dasHaus",theotherwayaround. However,hemayhavehadinmindthat
onecandwellinallsortsofplaces,notnecessarilyinahouse,whereastoperforma
"going"onenecessarilyhastogo..] Ontheotherhand[saysHeidegger]thereare
wordformsthatcorrespondexactlytoourfirstgroup(going,falling)andyet
resemble"bread","house"inwordcharacterandmeaning. Forexample:"The
ambassadorgaveanEssen(dinnerinfinitiveessen,toeat). "Hediedofanincurable
Leiden"(illnessinfinitiveleiden,tosuffer). Wenolongerregardthesewordsas
pertainingtoverbs. Fromtheverb,asubstantive,aname,hasdeveloped,andthis
throughadefiniteformoftheverbwhichinLatiniscalled modusinfinitivus. [Thus
Heideggerseemstohaveinmindthatthenound"Gehen"doespertaintotheverb
"gehen"because,asIhavealreadyindicated,agoing(noun)involvesgoing
(participle)cf.einstndigesKommenundGehen,acontinualcomingandgoing. On
theotherhand,"Leiden"doesn'tnecessarilypertaintotheverb"leiden". Itseems
that"Leiden"customarilyreferstoadisease,whereas"leiden"mayrefertosuffering
ofanyorigin.]
2.4.Heideggercontinueswithandetailedanalysisofgrammaticalcategoriesand
etymologies,especiallyasappliedtothetermdasSein. Hisconclusionis(translated)
:
"Being"remainsbarelyasoundtous,athreadbareappellation. Ifnothingmoreis
lefttous,wemustseekatleasttograspthislastvestigeofapossession. Therefore
weask"Howdoesitstandwiththeword'being'(dasSein)?" Wehaveansweredthis
questionintwowayswhichhaveledusintothegrammarandtheetymologyofthe
word. Letussumuptheresultsofthistwofolddiscussionoftheword"dasSein".
1. Grammaticalinvestigationofthewordformshowsthatintheinfinitivethe
definitemeaningsofthewordnolongermakethemselvesfelttheyareeffaced.
Substantivizationcompletelystabilizesandobjectifiesthiseffacement. Theword
becomesanameforsomethingindeterminate.
2. Etymologicalinvestigationoftheword'smeaninghasshownthatinrespectto
meaningwhatwehavelongcalledbythenameof"dasSein"isacompromiseand
mixtureofthreedifferentradicalmeanings. Noneofthesereachesupindependently
todeterminethemeaningoftheword. Mixtureandeffacementgohandinhand. In
thecombinationofthesetwoprocesseswefindanadequateexplanationofthefact
fromwhichwestarted,thattheword"being"isemptyanditsmeaningavapor.
HederivesthethreeradicalmeaningshespeaksoffromcertainSanskritandGreek
stems. Hesays:"Fromthethreestemswederivethethreeinitialconcretemeanings:
tolive,toemerge,tolingerorendure. Theseareareestablishedbylinguistics
[philology?],whichalsoestablishesthattheseinitialmeaningsareextincttoday,that
onlyan"abstract"meaning"tobe"hasbeenpreserved."
2.5. Afterthischapterongrammarandetymologyoftheword"being",Heidegger
turnstoachapterentitled"TheQuestionoftheEssenceofBeing". However,this
doesn'tmeanheturnsawayfromtheword"being". Afterarguingthatbecauseitis
giventoustodistinguish beingfromnonbeingineverydaysituations(thewindowis
orisnotclosed),andafterhe,hesays: "Thustheword"being"provestobetotally
indeterminateandyetweunderstanditdefinitely." Embracingtheobvious
contradiction,hesays:
Suddenlythefactthatbeingisanemptywordforustakesonanentirelydifferent
face. Wesuspectthatthewordmaynotbeasemptyasalleged. Ifwereflectmore
closelyontheword,itultimatelyturnsoutthatdespitealltheblurandmixtureand
universalityofitsmeaningwemeansomethingdefinitebyit. Thisdefinitenessisso
definiteissodefiniteanduniqueinitskindthatwemustevensaythis: Thebeing
whichbelongstoeveryessentwhatsoever,andwhichisthusdispersedamongallthat
ismostcurrentandfamiliarismoreuniquethanallelse. ... Overagainstthefact
thatthemeaningoftheword"being"remainsanindeterminatevaporforus,thefact
thatweunderstandbeinganddifferentiateitwithcertaintyfromnonbeingisnotjust
another,secondfactrather,thetwobelongtogether,theyareone. ... [E]venin
orderthatourbeingthereshouldremainforusanindifferentessent,weshouldhave
tounderstandbeing. Withoutthisunderstandingweshouldnotevenbeabletosayno
toourbeingthere.
Leavingasideaquestionaboutdegreesofuniqueness,an"essent"ispresumablya
beinginnatureorahumanbeing,whereaswhatismoreuniquethanallelseisBeing
withacapitalB. SoHeideggerembarkedonasearchforthetruemeaningof Seinby
anexaminationoftheword"Sein". Hisstrategyappearstobetoexaminemeanings
ofSeinandassociatedterms,andtostudyinteractionsofthetermsandtheirmultiple
andoverlappingmeaningsuntiltheymeldintoaOne(ormeaningof One)ofthesort
thatheallegesParmenidestohavesighted,butwhichphilosophersuptohim
havelostsightofovertheyears,althoughafewphilosophersaresaidbyhimtohave
hadapeekatit. ItshouldbenotedthatHeideggeroftendistinguishesrathersharply
between philosophersandtheologians.
2.6 Iwilldwell(housemyself)forabitwithsomegeneralconsiderationsaboutthe
Germannoun Seinandsomeassociatedterms. DasSeinisaverbalnounderived
fromtheverbsein,"tobe". InHeidegger'swritings,thereareassociatedtermssuch
asseiend("being",participleformof sein),Seiende(verbalnoun,"whatis","things
thatare",orperhaps,thatwhich ising),Seiendes(abeingorahumanbeing),
Seienden(beingsorhumanbeings). Inthelightoftheworkofclassical
metaphysicians,onemaywonderaboutwordscorrespondingtotheEnglishword
"becoming",suchaswerden,Werden,entstehen. Itiscuriousthatinthetranslation
intoEnglishof SeinundZeitbyJohnMacquarrieandEdwardRobinson(MandR,
1962),Seiendeistranslatedas"entity",andtermsrelatedtotheEnglishword
"becoming"suchaswerdenandWerdendonotappearintheirglossaryofGerman
expressions,nordoes"becoming"appearintheirindexofEnglishexpressions.
However,therearesometimeshintsofsuchaconceptinpresentparticipleendings,"
end"and"ing",althoughHeideggerisconcernednottocontrastBeing (nontemporal)
with Becoming(temporal)astraditionallydonebyphilosophers. Twotermsrelated
to"being"whichHeideggerintroducesisontologisch ("ontological")andontisch
("ontic"or"ontical"). Ontologie ("ontology")andontologisch correspondto
standardtermsforinvestigationsintoBeingandBecomingasconductedby
philosopherssinceatleastthetimeofancientGreece. ForHeidegger,Ontischrefers
toinvestigationswhichbeginwithsomethingtobestudied,somethingwhich existsas
disclosedin Dasein. Suchforexamplearethedisclosuresof Sein (mitZeit)studied
byscientistsandhistorians. Physicistsstudymotion,matter,energyandsoon,
biologistsstudylivingorganismsandtheirenvironmentsandevolutionoforganisms.
OntologischbycontrastreferstoTemporalizingBeing (Sein, Isingness),which
doesn'texistasanentity,butisthatwhichfurnishesexistenceintheworld.
2.7. Heideggerdistinguishesbetween Worldand Earth(WeltandErde). Victor
Vycinassaysin EarthandGodsthatHeideggerdevelopedthisdistinctionwithviews
ofearlyGreekphilosophersinmind. AccordingtoVycinas,HeideggertakesWorld
toincludeEarthandSky,presumablymeanttoincludeourplanetEarthandits
environsononehand,andallcelestialphenomenaontheother. However,Vycinas
says:
InhisLeConceptdeMondechezHeidegger,WalterBiemelhadexhaustivelyshown
worldasthereferentialcontext,i.e.worldasapproachedfromtheontological
structuresoftheimplementsbuthedidnotshowtheworldasnotabeingor
nothingness,i.e.worldasthattowhichmantranscendsinhisauthenticmodeof
being. ... Thetraditionalphilosophiescouldbecalledphilosophiesofsubstances
becausetheywereorientedtothebeingsandtheirstructures. Worldforthese
philosophieswasnotaprimaryproblemitwasmerelyanabstractiondeductedfrom
thediversityofbeings. Worldwaseitherthesumofallthebeings,oritwasaregion
towhichacertaingroupofbeingsbelonged. Thislattercaseconsideredadiversityof
worlds,suchastheworldofmathematics,worldofbusiness,andworldofhoodlums.
... AccordingtoHeidegger,itisimpossibletodeduceworldfrombeingsworldhas
tobeknownsomewaydirectly. Theonlybeingwhichknowstheworldisman. ...
Theknowledgeoftheworldisontologicallypriortotheoretical,aswellaspractical,
knowledge. Itispriortotheknowledgeofabeingassuchitmakestheknowledgeof
abeingpossible. ... InHeidegger'sunderstanding,theessenceofmanmustbe
soughtindeeperlayersofrealitythanmerelyinsubstantiality. ... InHeidegger's
WasistMetaphysik?,worldisindicatedasnothingnessinthesenseof'nobeing'or
'nothing'.
Here"implements"inthefirstsentencecouldbetranslatedas"things",and
"nothingness"as"nothingness",i.e."notathingness". Alsointheterm"nota
being",the"being"referstoeverydayexistence,andnottotranscendental Being. We
wouldthenhaveastatementtotheeffectthatBiemeldidnotshowthatHeidegger
usedthetermdieWeltnotjusttosignifythatwhichexistsforpeopleas"things",but
alsotoincludethatbyvirtueofwhich"things" andpeopleexist. Infact,Vycinas
says
Beingandworldarenottwodifferentthings. ThereisnotBeingasinitself,asa
certainsubstance,whichthen,offandon,cancomeintotheworld. ... Tosay
'Being'istosay'opennessofBeing"which againistosay'world'.
ItseemsunfortunatethatVycinassays"twodifferentthings". Itseemsbettertohave
said"Beingandworldarenotdifferent." Inanycase,Vycinasseemstobesaying
thatHeidegger'sSeinundZeit,hisWelt,includesbeingandbeingsandwhatever
transcendsthese.
2.8. VycinasdetectsthreesuccessiveapproachesbyHeideggertohisconceptof
World:
Ineachoftheseapproaches,theworldisneverasomethingforitself,butitalways
involvesthings. Inthefirstphase,theworldisthereferentialtotality
(Verweisungsganzheit)ofthethingsasimplements[thingspeoplethinkofintermsof
theiruses]inthesecondphase,theworldistheopennessofBeinginwhichthings
sojournandinthethirdphase,theworldistheinterplayofthefoursomeas
assembledbyathing."
VycinasdescribeswhathecallsHeidegger's"problemofthefoursome"inthisway,
withreferencetoHeidegger'sVortrgeundAufstze(1954):
AccordingtoHeidegger,dwelling,as"abidingofthemortals[men]ontheearth,"is
atthesametimetheirwanderingunderthesky,sojourningintheproximityof
divinities,andtheirbelongingintogetherness. Thesefourearth,sky,gods,and
mortalsbelongtogetherinanoriginalunity. Skyischaracterizedbythesun,moon,
stars,seasonsoftheyear,days,nights,winds,andclouds. Godsare"thehinting
messengersofthedivine." Agodappearsfromoutoftheswayheldbythedivine
(Being). Themortalsarecharacterizedasthosewhohavethecapacityfordeathas
death.
2.9. AccordingtoVycinas,Earth(Erde),asdistinguishedfromWorld(Welt)by
Heidegger,canbecharacterizedbyastudyoftheGreektermphysis. Thiswas
translatedintoLatinby natura,andisoftentranslatedintoEnglishby"Nature"or
"nature". However,Heideggerregarded physisasmeaningsomethingmorethanthat
whichphysicistsandotherscientistsstudy,andsomethingmorethantheoutdoors
thatpeoplemayexperienceintheirordinaryexistences. Itisnotonlythese,butalso
linksSeinundZeit(Temporalitt)to Dasein,authenticBeingtoinauthenticbeing.
Assuch,itproducesAristotle'sgenesisandphthora,generatioandcorruptio,
"comingtobe"and"passingaway". Vycinassays:
Physisisnotnatureinthesenseofthemodernphysicalsciences. Itisrathernatureas
lefttobethewayitisinitselfandnotthewayitiswhenfacedbyanimpersonal,
scientificsubject. Insteadoftreating physisinthemodernsenseitisnecessarytosee
itthewaytheGreekshaveseenitandthustounderstandHeidegger'searth. ...
Physisingeneralmeanstherisingorbreakingthrough,unraveling,opening,and
developing. Thusphysisappearsandcomesforwardandsojournsinthisappearance
itisthisappearance. Itiswrongtothinkofphysisasacertainsubstancewhich
besidesbeinghasthepropertyofbreakingthroughandcomingforwardinto
appearance. ThebreakingthroughandcomingforwardisBeing,isphysis. Itisnever
apropertyofabeingbutisBeingitself. Inbreakingthrough,physisholdsanorderor
arealmopenwithwhichitdominatesallappearances. ... Anythingwhatsoever
wouldnotbethinkable,woulddisintegrateintonothing,ifitwerenotforthepower
ofphysiswhichthrowseverythingintoitsboundarieswaters,lands,animals,men,
nations,andevengods. ... Sincephysisisthatwhichgrantslifeorbeingto
everything,ititselfisthatinwhichallsuchlifeorbeingisbased.
VycinasquotesEugenFinkwhosaysinhisGrundfragenderAntikenPhilosophie:
Physisisthatwhichsendsforththemanyandtakesthembackagain. ... Physisis
thatwhichliesinthegroundofallchangeability.
Physisnotonlygiveslifeandbeing,italsotakesthembackagain. Itis"thatinwhich
everythingbeginsandends". Ittakesthelifeandbeingandbeingsof Dasein back
intoSeinandTemporalitt,backintotheundifferentiatedOne. Andsophysis
disclosesthebeingsandthingsoftheEarthandpresumablyalsotheSky,makesthem
appear,andthenhidesthemagain,makesthemdisappear.
2.10. HeideggermakesmuchuseofthetermDasein(orDasein),whichliterally
translatedintoEnglishis"beingthere",orevenmoreliterally"therebeing",although
tojudgefromcertaincolloquialusages,"beinghere"isalsopossible,orperhaps
"beinghereandthere". DaseinisoftenleftuntranslatedinEnglish. Sometimesitis
translatedas"humanbeing",i.e.,"human being"withemphasisonthe"being". Here
"humanbeing"isnottobetakeninthesenseof"individualperson",butasreferring
tothewayhumansexist,includingnotonlythekindofordinarywaysthey(orwe)
exist,butalsotheBeingwhichwemayhaveorareopento. Ontheotherhand,
human being occursinhumanbeings(people),sosomeamalgamationofthesetwo
meaningsofthephrase"humanbeing"istobeexpected.
2.11. Heideggerspeaksof beingintheworld(InderWeltsein,literally"inthe
worldtobe")asa(orthe)fundamentalstateofDasein. Itakeit,however,thathe
meantDasein tobeopentoTemporalizingSein(Isingness)insomeway. Dasein
mightbetranslatedby Ising.Theordinaryorinauthentickindofbeingahumanhas,
when Beingisabsent,mightbetranslatedby ising,uncapitalized. Withthis
terminology,IamtemptedtospeakofphysisasIsingnessIsingandising. A
relatedtranslationwasusedbyThomasK.Carrinareview(FirstThings,Aug/Sep
1995)ofJohnMacquarrie'slectureson HeideggerandChristianity(published1994).
Carrasks"Whatkindof'thing'istheisnessofthings?" Thisquestionispresented
byCarrasarewordingoftheperennialphilosophicalquestion"WhatisBeing?".
Theuseoftheterm"thing"inquotesseemsthereforetoreferto Being (which,
however,Heideggersometimessaysisnota"thing"inanyeverydaysense),whereas
theterm"things"notinquotesevidentlyreferstoordinaryexistence. Carrmayhave
hadinmindtheauthentic(orextraordinary)wayofbeingopentoDasein,inwhicha
person,sotospeak,mayliveinthelightof Being.
2.12. AfterwanderingthroughafewmeaningsofDasein,itisfitting,ormaybefit
causing,toreadthefollowing,from"AParadigmShiftinHeideggerResearch"
(2001)byThomasSheehan:
Da:OneoftheleasthappymovesofHeideggerscholarshiphasbeentotranslatethe
DaofDaseinas"there."ButwithHeidegger'sDa,aswithGertrudeStein'sOakland,
thereisnotherethere. ... TheBeitrgeandothertextsshowthatHeidegger
understoodtheDanotasthe"there"butasdasOffeneordieOffenheit,the"open". ..
. Thatis,theDaisthesameasWeltandLichtung ... Itisascandalthatfortyyears
afterthepublicationof BeingandTimeHeidegger'skeytermDaseinisstillusually
leftintheGerman.Translatingitaswithvariationson"there"isbadenough,but
leavingituntranslatedisnobetter.That'slikeissuingapromissorynote:"Letthe
wordDasein standfortheunknown,andwhenwefigureoutwhatitmeans,we'llget
backtoyou."
HeideggerunderstandstheDanotas"thethere"butas"theopen."Assuch,theDais
notonlythesameasWeltandLichtung butisalsoequivalenttoalltheotherterms
thatHeideggerusedfordieSacheselbst[literally,"theconcernitself",i.e.whatwe
areprimarilyconcernedwith"]. ... Themostextraordinarythingaboutallof
Heidegger'sthought,bothearlyandlate,ishisunwaiveringinsistencethathuman
beingisthat"open"andthusis"thethingitself."Fromthebeginningtotheendofhis
career,henevergotbeyondthatpoint.
HeideggerinsiststhattheverbalemphasisinthewordDaseinfallsonthesecond
syllable:Dasein,"havingtobeopen"(Zollikon,157.8,188.14).Hispointisthat
humanbeingsaretheDanotoccasionallyorbytheirownchoice,butofnecessity.
Wecannotnotbetheopen(thepossibilityoftakingas)justaswecannotnotbeour
ownminds.InHeidegger'searlylanguage,wearealwaysalready thrownopen
(geworfen).Wearenotthrown"into"theopen,asiftheDa/Lichtung/Weltalready
existedwithoutuswearenotopen"to"theopen,asifitweresomethingseparate
fromuswedonot"transcendto"theopenasifwehadtocrossfromheretothere
andwedonot"project"theopenasifwebroughtitaboutasourownpersonal
achievement.Withoutus,thereisnoopenatallbutwithus,theopenisalways
apriorioperative.InthatregardsomeofHeidegger'stermscanbemisleading.
"Beingintheworld"actuallymeans"beingtheworld"(dieLichtungsein:GA 69,
101.12),and"thrownnessintotheworld"meansbeingtheworldofnecessity,i.e.,a
priori.
2.13. Iamremindedofafavoritemathematicsprofessorofmine,HermanMeyerof
theUniversityofMiami(Florida),whohadahabitofinterspersinghisexplanations
withtherhetoricalquestion"Isthisclear?". Studentssoonrealizedthathewasn't
reallyaskingthisofthestudents,but,Iexpect,givinghimselfabrieftimetothinkof
whathewantedtosaynext. Oneday,inaclassontheoryoffunctionsofareal
variable(hewasaprofessorofmathematics),afellowstudentofminedecided
neverthelesstostartshakinghishead"no!"vigorously,behindProf.Meyer'sback,as
iftheprofessor reallyintendedthatstudentsbeabletorespondtothequestion. This
causedtheothermembersoftheclasstostartlaughing,atwhichHermanturned,
puzzled,andthenproceededonward,sincethestudenthadstoppedshakinghishead,
andsaidnothing. Aftertheclass,IhadoccasiontotellHermanwhatthelaughterwas
about,andtoldhim,apparentlytohissurprise,abouthisspeechhabit. Ican'trecallat
thislaterdate(ithappenedover50yearsago)whetherornotProf.Meyermodified
hislecturinginthelightofthisexposure,ornot. However,Ioftenthinkofthe
incident,andtheabovediscussionofpossiblemeaningsofkeywordsinHeidegger's
works,andpossibleEnglishtranslationsofthem,hastriggeredthismemoryonemore
time. Isthisclear?
2.14. HeideggersaysofthewordExistenz("existence"):DasSeinselbst,zudemdas
Daseinsichsoodersoverhalten,undimmerirgendwieverhlt,nennenwirExistenz.
Itranslate:"ThatBeingwhichrelatesinthisorthatwaytoDasein,andalways
somehowrelates,wecall'existence'". MandRhave: "ThatkindofBeingtowards
whichDaseincancomportitselfinonewayoranother,andalwaysdoescomport
itselfsomehow,wecall'existence'." SometimesthewordDaseinistranslatedinto
Englishby"existence",butunlessmodifiedthismissesadistinctionbetween human
existenceintheworld,andexistenceingeneralintheworld,aswellasmasking
presenceof Seinin Dasein.
2.15. Inhisbook Heidegger'sAtheism(1961),LaurencePaulHemmingquotesfrom
anexchangebetweenHeideggerandKarlLwith:
Heidegger: "ButDaseinin SeinundZeit...howdoyouunderstandit?
Lwith: "Thethereofbeing."
Heidegger: "No! ...beinghasnothere."
PresumablyHeideggerwasalludingtothederivativenatureofspatiality,i.e.Is
ingnessisnotin space,butspaceinsomewayarisesfromIsingness. Ontheother
hand,perhapsLwithmeanttoalludetotheway Isingnessisrelatedtohuman
beingintheworld,ratherthanassertingtheTemporalizingSeinhassomesortof
physicallocation.
2.16. AcomparisonofthisinterchangebetweenHeideggerandLwithwitha
statementmadebyVictorVycinasin EarthandGods(1961)illustratesoncemorethe
kindofoverlapsandconflictswhichareliabletobecomeimplicatedinany
discussionsoftheterms"tobe"and"Sein"andtheirkin:
ThecloserelationofDaseinandBeingdoesnotmeanman'sremotion[remoteness?
actionofremoval?]fromconcretelife. Notatall! TheDaofBeingisthatinwhich
allconcretenessisrooted,orthatwhichispresupposedbyconcreteness. Considering
theGreekword polisnotasastateoracitystatebutas"Dawhereinandwhatthe
Daseinhistoricallyis",HeideggermaintainsthattheDaaspolisisthecentertowhich
allthemeaningsofthewaysanddoingsofconcretehumanlifearerelated. To Da,
"totheabodeofhistoricitybelonggods,temples,priests,feasts,plays,poets,thinkers,
rulers,councilsofseniors,nationalassemblies,forces,andvessels." Onlyhere,in
Da,poetispoet,priestispriest,rulerisruler,thinkeristhinkerandalltheirdoings
andthethingstheydealwith words,prayers,orders,thoughts,duties,soldiers,
vessels,etc.aremeaningfulelementsinthemeaninggrantingwhole,theDaof
Being.
ThequotationswithinthisquotationaretranslatedfromHeidegger'sIntroductionto
Metaphysics.
2.17. Therearemanyinstancesof Dasein,oneforeachhuman,butonlyoneinstance
ofSein. Eachinstanceof Daseinisthrown(geworfen)intotheworld,whereitisput
contactwithotherinstancesof Daseinwhichhavebeenthrownintotheworld. One
instanceofDaseinispresenttoorinteractswithanotherinstanceof Daseininways
differentfromthewayoneinstanceofDaseinispresenttoitselforinteractswithinor
onitsself,andeach Dasein(each Ising)isingreaterorlessercontactwith Sein(Is
ingness). Interactionsandsharingbetweensuchinstancesinvolvecaring,asfoundin
caringornotcaring for: likingorloving,takingcareoforameliorating,butalsonot
liking,hating,"takingcareof"inthesenseofeliminatingorevenkilling. However,
accordingtoHeidegger,thiscaringaboutothersispartoftheinauthenticoreveryday
beingofDasein,andfunctionsdifferently fromcaringaboutandsearchingforthe
authenticbeingofone'sownself,whichisaprivateenterprise. Suchauthenticityis
achievedbylivingtowardone'sdeath. Eachdeathofaninstanceof Dasein belongs
tothatDaseinalone,andcannotbesharedinanywaywithanotherinstanceof
Dasein. Itthusappearsthatstrivingforauthenticityinvolvesdisregardofothers,
whichhasethicalimplications. Thisisevenmoreextremewhenothercreatures
besideshumansaretakenintoconsideration. ItisHeidegger'sviewthatonlyhumans
arecapableofknowing Sein,Being,Isingness. Itappearsthatasaconsequence,
one'sdogorcatmaybeconsideredasnomoreofanobjectthanone'stableorastray
stone.
2.18. AlongwithtranslatingHeidegger'sTemporalizingSeinasIsingness,onemay
translatehisDaseinby Ising. Itmightbeobjectedthataddingonemoretermto
multiplicitiesoftranslationsofthesetermsintoEnglishjustintroducesmore
confusion. Butalongwithconfusing,weareilluminating characteristicsofsome
usagesoflanguage(notonlybyHeidegger),inwhichwordsandtermsandphrases
intentionallyorinescapablyhavemultiplerelatedmeaningsingivencontexts,and
evokeassociatedwordsorsynonyms,aselaboratedbyanalyticphilosophersand
literarycritics. ThusthereareadvantagestoreadingandtranslatingHeidegger's
worksfromhisGermanintoanotherlanguage,inasmuchassuchcharacteristicsof
languagesarebroughtmoreintotheopen. Inhiswriting,Heideggerseemstostrive
toproducethissamesortofthingwithintheGermanlanguageitself. In Heidegger
andtheQuestionofTime(1999translationofHeideggeretlaQuestionduTemps,
1990),FranoiseDastursays:
... Heideggerrepresentsonlytheextremecaseofwhatisnormalforanythought,
namely,attemptingtoexpressauniversalinandthroughasingularlanguage. We
know,atleastsinceHerderandespeciallysinceHumboldt(underwhoseauthority
Heideggerexplicitlyplaceshimself ... )thateverylanguageisaworldviewandis,
therefore,notameretool forexpressingpreexistingsignificationsbutinstead
constitutesthem. Thisiswhytranslatingcanneverbeasimpletranspositionofterms
fromonelanguagetoanotherorthesearchforinterlinguisticequivalences. ... That
translationisneverthelesspossibleiswhatHeideggerhimselfstresseswhenherecalls
... thatwemustfirsttranslateourownmothertongue,thatis,appropriatethisidiom,
whichisneveronlyafamiliartoolbut,assoonaswebegintothink,acquiresthe
statusofaforeignlanguage. Itisthistranslationwithinlanguagethatmakesthe
translationbetweendifferentlanguagespossible. This,however,impliesthat
translatingisalwaysaworkof thoughtandaneffortofinterpretation.
ItseemsappositetoquoteMarjorieGreneonthistopic,fromherbook Martin
Heidegger(1957):
SeinundZeit iswritteninacontortedandarbitrarystyle,hopelesslyuntranslatable
intoEnglish,somesayevenintoGermananditsargumentisburiedunderaheapof
paradoxicalpronouncements.Yetforallitsverbosityanditsarrogance,thereisinita
direct,drivingcompression:itswords,thoughmany,arelessthanthepassionbehind
it.
2.20. Heidegger'suseoflanguageremindsmeofasloganIusedtoproclaimtomy
studentsinmathematicsclasses: "It'swhatitis,it'snotsomethingelse". WhatIhad
inmindwasawaytoproceedindoingmathematics,inwhichonerecognizesthatthe
specialtermsusedbymathematiciansareseverelyrestrictedinawayoftennotfound
inotherusesofspeechandlanguage. Forexample,takethenotionof"field"asused
bymathematiciansinconnectionwithalgebraicstructures. Thetermdescribesavery
specificalgebraicstructure,characterizedbyacertainfinitesetofassumptions,the
axiomsforafield. Mathematiciansintroducevariouscollectionsofentitieswhich,as
theysay,satisfyorobeytheseaxioms. Usingtheseaxiomsand logic,oneisableto
deducefurtherpropositions,calledtheorems. Iwon'tgoanyfurtherintothe
mathematicsoffields,northeirapplications. Mypointisthis: Theword"field"has
manyothermeaningsdenotationsandconnotations,references,senses. Butone
musttakecarethatnoneoftheseothermeanings,sotospeak,infectsitsmathematical
meaninginconnectionwithalgebra. Thisisespeciallytemptinginconnectionwitha
differentusebymathematiciansoftheverysameterm"field",whentheyspeakofa
vectorfield. A fieldinthislattersenseisdefinedaspreciselyasthepreviouskind,
butinaquitedifferentway. Furthermorethelatterkindoffieldhasageometric
componentwhichcanberegardedaslackingintheformerkind,althoughinstancesof
theformerkindarecertainly applied togeometricalconstructs. Inanycase,one
shouldtrynottoconfusethetwo,andnotrelatethetwowithoutclearly
distinguishingbetweenthem,andprovidingexplicitlystatedandlogicallysound
connectionsbetweenthem,eachofthesementalconstructsiswhatitis,andnot
somethingelse. Ofcourse,suchpureseparationofconceptsisan ideal,whichmayor
maynotbefullyrealizedinpractice. It'ssomethingtoaimat.
2.21. Thesituationisfurthercomplicatedbythefactthatthetermfieldasusedby
physicistsissomethingelseagain,althoughtheycustomarilyuseratherelaborate
mathematicsinworkingwiththen. Myexperiencehasbeenthatwhenphysicists
wanttobepreciseabout,say,whatan electricfield,theyrelyonsomemathematical
formulation,butthatbesidesthemathematicalformulation,theyalsohavesome
furtherconstructsinmind. Theseare,Itakeit,tosomeextentbasedonexperiments
theyhavedoneorbeentoldabout,andonotherphenomenatheyhaveexperienced
(perceived)orbeentoldabout,aswellaswhatevertheythinkthemathematicsthey
usedescribesorfailstodescribe. Quantumfields areespeciallyorneryinthisregard,
sincegeometricintuition,Anschauung,visualizationinoroutofhumanminds,don't
seemtoworkverywellforsuch fields,andphysicistsuptonowhavehadtorelyon
algebraicallybasedmathematicalconstructionswithonlylimitedgeometriccontent
derivedby analogyfromwelldevelopedgeometricstructures.
2.22. Ofcourse,besidesspecialusesoftheterm"field"inmathematicsandphysics,
therearemanyotherusesandmeaningsandshadesofmeaningsofthisterm,asmay
beverifiedbylookinginasufficientlylargedictionary. Thesealsoshouldbe
separated,asfaraspossible,fromthetechnicaluses. Inote,inpassing,thatthe
algebraicstructurecalledafieldinEnglishistranslatedintoGermanby Krper. So
inGerman,analgebraicfieldisliabletobethoughtofasakindof body,whereasin
Englishitislikelytothoughtofasakindof expanse. Furthermore,aphysical field,
suchasanelectricorgravitationalfield,istranslatedintoGermanby Feld,soitis
liabletobethoughtofasan expanse. IwonderwhatHeideggermighthave
concludedaboutthenaturesof algebraandelectricitybyananalysisofthesetwo
differenttermsinGerman,usinghiswayswithlanguage. AndIwonderwhat
problemswouldhavearisenintranslatinghispresentationoftheanalysisfrom
GermanintoEnglish.
2.23. Asfatewouldhaveit,shortlyafterwritingthepreviousparagraph,Ipickedup
abookbyFrancisWheencalledIdiotProof:DeludedCelebrities,IrrationalPower
Brokers,MediaMorons,andtheErosionofCommonSense(2004),andopenedittoa
pageonwhichWheenquotesastatementbyMichelFoucault. Heideggerhada
considerableinfluenceonpeoplelikeFoucaultwhoarecustomarilysaidtohavebeen
ortobeparticipantsinthemedleyofmovementslabeledas"postmodern". This
statementillustratesinanotherwaysomethingalongthelinesofwhatIhavejustbeen
tryingtocommunicate. Wheenwrites:
Aspoststructuralismmorphedintodeconstructionandthenpostmodernism,itoften
seemedawayofevadingpoliticsaltogether ... Thelogicoftheirplayfulinsistence
thattherewerenocertaintiesorrealities,andtheirrefusaltoacknowledgethe
legitimacyofvaluejudgments,ledtoafreefloatingrelativismthatcouldcelebrate
bothAmericanpopcultureandmedievalsuperstitionwithoutaqualm. Michel
FoucaultvisitedTehransoonafterthefalloftheShah,andcamebacktoParis
enrapturedbythe"beauty"oftheAyatollahKhomeini'sneanderthalregime. Asked
aboutthesuppressionofalldissent,hereplied:
Theydon'thavethesameregimeoftruthasours,which,ithastobesaid,isvery
special,evenifithasbecomealmostuniversal. TheGreekshadtheirown. The
ArabsoftheMaghrebhaveanother. AndinIranitislargelymodeledonareligion
thathasanexotericformandanesotericcontent. Thatistosay,everythingthatis
saidundertheexplicitformofthelawalsoreferstoanothermeaning. Sonotonlyis
sayingonethingthatmeansanothernotacondemnableambiguity,itis,onthe
contrary,anecessaryandhighlyprizedadditionallevelofmeaning. It'softenthe
casethatpeoplesaysomethingthat,atthefactuallevel,isn'ttrue,butwhichrefersto
another,deepermeaning,whichcannotbeassimilatedintermsofprecisionand
observation.
ItissurelynotthecasethatHeideggerinfluencedthemullahsofIraninsuchusesof
language. MyviewisthatwhatHeideggerandthemullahshaveincommonis
traditionsanddoctrinesandbeliefswhichcanbetracedbacktoexpositorsand
interpretersoftheSemiticreligions: Judaism,ChristianityandIslam. Hermeneutics
isthetermusedtocoverthemethodsofinterpretingandexplainingtheTanachand
TalmudsandKabbalah,theChristianBiblesandwritingsoftheChurchFathersand
oftheReformation,theQuranandtheHadiths. Hermeneuticsisatermused
frequentlybyHeidegger,andhisfollowersandexpositors. Thetermoriginallywas
appliedtomethodsforinterpretingtheBibleandotherreligiouswritings,suchas
variouskindsofexegesis,involvingsuchtechniquesasallegoryand prefiguration
(typology). Manyofthehermeneutical methodsinvolveusesoflanguageanalogous
tothoseusedbyHeidegger,andwhich,asItriedtoillustrate,areinsharpcontrastto
thoseusedbymathematicians,logicians,scientists,andsomekindsofphilosophers,
e.g.thoseknownaslogicalpositivistsorlogicalempiricists.
2.24. TocontinuewithanexaminationofpartsoftheIntroductionto SeinundZeit,I
notethatHeideggerrejectsanyclaimthatSein,asheusesit,is(ormeans)something
selfevident. Heindicatesthatsuchaninterpretationmayoccurwhen Seinis
understoodthroughordinaryusagesof seinanditsinflections,asin DerHimmelist
blau("Theskyisblue")orIchbinfroh ("Iamhappy"). Hesays: Alleindiese
durchschnittlicheVerstndigkeitdemonstriertnurUnverstndigkeit. Siemacht
offenbar,dassinjedemVerhaltenundSeinzuSeiendemalsSeiendemaprioriein
Rtselliegt. Itranslate:"Thiseverydaywisdomjustdemonstrateslackofwisdom.
Itmakesclearthataprioriariddleliesinanyapproachto,andIsingnessinvolved
in,"thatwhichis" qua"thatwhichis". MandRtranslatethis: "Butherewehavean
averagekindofintelligibility,whichmerelydemonstratesthatthisisunintelligible. It
makesmanifestthatinanywayofbehavingoneselftowardsentitiesasentities
eveninanyBeingtowardsentitiesasentitiesthereliesapriorianenigma." Inher
translationintoEnglishofSeinundZeit(1996),JoanStambaughhas: "Butthis
averagecomprehensibilityonlydemonstratestheincomprehensibility. Itshowsthat
anenigmaliesaprioriineveryrelationandbeingtowardbeingsasbeings." The
phraseIhavetranslatedas"beingtowardthatwhichisquathatwhichis"suggestsa
participationofBeingintheworld,inentitiesconsideredmerelyasentities,though
notnecessarilythesortwhichoccurin Dasein,"humanbeingintheworld".
2.25. Heidegger'susesof Daseinand Seinsuggestafurtherlookatdifferences
betweenvariousformsoftheEnglish"tobe". Iam,asacompletestatement,canbe
takenasareferencetoawarenessof myDasein. Youarecanbetaken,insuitable
context,asareferencetomyrecognitionof yourDasein. Heorsheiscanbetakenas
referringwithagreaterlossofintimacyorinteractionasreferringtosomeperson's
Dasein. Wearemayhaveconnotationsofcollectivities. Theyaresuggestsadivision
ofonecollectivityfromanother,oroneindividualfromothers. Andthenthereisit
is,whichmovesawayfromDasein,inthatonecustomarilydoesn'tusethisformto
refertoahuman. Theyareisambiguousinthisrespect,andlikeitis,mayreferto
collectionsofnonhumans,orinanimateobjects,orhumansregardedasobjectsrather
thansubjects,ortoabstractionsoridealslikePlatonicIdeas. Onemayinterpret
Plato'sviewstoinvolveacollectionofsuch IdeasformingthegroundofBeing,
whichbringsusbacktoonemeaningof Seintobefoundamongphilosophers(not
includingHeidegger). Allofthisemphasizesagainthatanydiscussionofbeingand
beingintheworldandSeinand Dasein(Isingnessand Ising)andallother
variationsandderivativesof seinandtobe)isboundtobeconductedinan
atmosphereofambiguityandmultiplemeaningsandcontradictionandmystery. So
beit. Thisisnotmathematics,noroneofthesciences,norisitanalyticphilosophy.
2.26. Heideggerusesthetwowordsexistenzialand existenziell. Theterm existenzial
isusedintheGermanlanguageinconnectionwiththemovementinphilosophy
called existentialism. However,Heideggerdeniedbeinganexistentialistphilosopher,
especiallyoneinthemodeofJeanPaulSartre,andmaintainedinsteadthathewasan
ontologist. Somereadersofhisworkshavedisagreedwiththisassessmentof
himself,inviewofhispassionatedepictionoftheloneliness,Angst(dread)in
individuallives,theplaceofdeathinourlives,andothercentralthemesofsuch
existentialistphilosophersasSrenKierkegaardandSartre. Theterm Angstisoften
leftuntranslatedinEnglish,sinceforsuchphilosophers,Angstisnotadreadorfear
ofsomethingwithintheworld,butakindofanxietywhicharisesfromSein,whichis
notasomething,butanothing. Vycinassaysthat"Heideggerstressesthatdread
comesfromnowherewhichindicatesthatitdoesnotarisefromsomethingbutrather
from'nothing'." ThisthoughtissometimesstatedinEnglishbysuchphrasesas
"AngstarisesfromNothing". ThereisaplayhereonthetermsNothingandNo
thing. Ifonespeaksof"fearofnothing",onemeansthatfearistotallylacking,
whereasifonespeaksof"fearofno thing"onemaymeanthatfearispresent,but
doesnotarisefromathing. Thelatterinterpretationmightbereducedtotheformer
byinterpretingtheterm"thing"sufficientlybroadly,butanemphasison thing
suggestsotherwise.
2.27. Heideggersaysofthewordexistienziell,evidentlycoinedbyhim,that"Die
FragederExistenzistimmernurdurchdasExistierenselbstinsReinezubringen.
DashierbeifhrendeVerstndnisseinerselbstnennenwirexistenziell." My
translation:"Thequestionofexistenceisalwaysonlysettledthroughlivingitself.
Theunderstandingofoneselfledtointhiswaywecall existentiell". MandRhave:
"Thequestionofexistencenevergetsstraightenedoutexceptthroughexistingitself.
Theunderstandingofoneselfwhichleadsalongthiswaywecall'existentiell'". This
termissometimesleftuntranslatedinEnglish. AnothervariationusedbyHeidegger
isExistenzial,whichcanberendered"anexistential"withplural"existentials",
althoughMandRhave"existentialia"fortheplural. ThereisalsoExistentialitt,
"existentiality". Heideggersays: WeilsiesichausderExistentialittbestimmen,
nennenwirdieSeinscharakteredesDaseinsExistentialia ("Becausetheyare
determinedbyexistentiality,wecallthecharacteristicsofBeingofDasein
existentialia".) In Heidegger'sBeing&Time,E.F.KaelincomparesHeidegger's
"existentials"(ashecallsthem)withontological categories,ofthesortAristotleand
Kantputforward,. The"existentials"areonlyapplicabletohumans,andareto
functionasreplacementsforcategories,orperhapsspecialkindsofcategories.
2.28. ExistentialittisoneofatrinitywhichHeideggerassertsisfundamentaltothe
analysisof Dasein,ofhumanbeing. Hesays: Diefundamentalenontologischen
CharakterediesesSeiendensindExistentialitt,Faktizitt,undVerfallensein.Diese
existentialenBestimmungengehrennichtalsSttckezueinemKompositum,daran
zuweileneinesfehlenknnte,sonderninihnenwebteinursprnglicher
Zusammenhang,derdiegesuchteGanzheitdesStrukturganzenausmacht.Inder
EinheitdergenanntenSeinsbestimmungendesDaseinswirddessenSeinalssolches
ontologischfassbar. MarjorieGrenetranslatesthisas:"Thefundamentalontological
characteristicsofthisbeingareexistentiality,facticityandforfeiture. These
existentialdeterminationsdonotbelong asbitstoacompositewhole,insuchaway
thatonemightbemissing,butinthemthereisentwinedafundamentalrelationship,
whichconstitutesthatwholenessofthewholestructureforwhichwehavebeen
seeking.IntheunityoftheaforementioneddeterminationsofBeingpossessedby
humanbeing,itsbeingisontologicallycomprehensibleassuch." Theword
VerfallenseinistranslatedbyGreneby"forfeiture". Thisword,whichmayhave
coinedbyHeidegger,hasbeentranslatedinmanyways. Forexample,onefinds
"Beingfallen"(MandR),"fallingprey"(Stambaugh),"inauthenticexistence",
"fallenexistence","enslavement","thralldom". Heideggerevidentlywantsaword
whichconveystheideaofhumansforgetting Being (Sein)intheireverydayworlds.
Thenoun Verfallhasprimarymeaningssuchas"decay","degeneration","downfall"
and"forfeiture"and"expiration"inlegalsenses. Theverbverfallenconnotes
similarly,andalsoinsomecontextsmeans"beenslaved","fallintothepossession
of". ThissituationexemplifiesthedifficultiesoftranslatingHeidegger'sSeinundZeit
intootherlanguages. WhenGrenewroteherbookaboutHeidegger,noEnglish
translationhadyetappeared. Sheremarks: "SeinundZeitiswritteninacontorted
andarbitrarystyle,hopelesslyuntranslatableintoEnglish,somesayeveninto
Germananditsargumentisburiedunderaheapofparadoxicalpronouncements."
2.29. Greneconcludes:
Thesethree,then:facticity:beingalwaysalreadyinaworldexistentiality:being
alwaysinadvanceofitselfinessentialrelationtoitsownpossibilitiesforfeiture:
distractionbytheinsistentclaimsofeverydaymoodsandeverydayinterestsand
everydaycompanions,aretheessentialaspectsofhumanbeing.Butthethreeaspects
arenotseparable.Theyform,aswehaveseen,oneunifiedstructure.Itistothis
single,indissolublenaturethatHeideggergivesthenameSorge,cura,"concern"or
"care".
2.30. Inhisbook TheGenesisofHeidegger'sBeingandTime (1993),Theodore
KisielsaysofthetermFaktizitt("facticity"):"Thelocusclassicusofthetermisin
thepostKantian"irrationalhiatus"betweenaposterioriandapriori,whereFaktizitt
ispairedwith LogizittandspecificallysetofffromitfirstbyFichte. After
discussingitinitsneoKantiansense,Heideggerthanmakesthetermhisown ... to
refertotheprimalrealityoffacticlifeexperience[presumablyeverydayliving],
alreadychargedwithitsownhermeneutic"logicity",therebycollapsingand
conflatingthepostKantiandistinction." ItseemsthattheneoKantianuseofthe
termwasmeanttoseparatethatpartofeverydaylivingwhichisnotaffectedby
reasoning,fromthatpartofeverydaylivingwhich isaffectedbyreason. Kisiel's
statementindicatesthatHeideggerwished,forexample,toconsideremotionaland
reasonableactionsunderamoregeneralcategory,whichhecalledFaktizitt.
2.31. SrenKierkegardmadeuseofaconceptrelatedtoSorge,andSaintAugustine
madearelateduseof theLatintermcura. Otherpossibletranslationsof Sorgeare
"worry","solicitude","caring". Thetranslation"caring"isinterestinginEnglish
sinceonemayspeakof"caring"forsomeoneinthetwosensesof"likingorloving
someone"and"takingcareofsomeone",bothofwhichinvolveworries. However,in
aslangtermofgangsterism,"takingcareof"apersonmeanskillingthatperson,and,
lessdrastically,questionsabout"caringforsomeone"mayinvolvenegativeaswellas
positiveanswers,i.e.notlikingorhating. By Sorge,though,Heideggerattimes
meanssomethinglike"caringwhoandwhatandhowoneselfis",or"beingconcerned
withoraboutoneself",whichinvolvessearchingfortheroleof Seinin Dasein,the
roleofBeinginbeingintheworld. ThispointstoadifferencebetweenwhatIdoin
theworld,andwhatothersdointheworld. Itappearsthataperson'scominginto
contactwithhisorherIsingnessisalonelyprocedure,whichinvolveswithdrawal
fromcaringaboutothers. Heideggerproposesthatinproceedingtowarddying,oneis
proceeding,alone,towardone'strueself,ascontrastedwithone'severydayor
inauthenticself. Presenceof SeininaDaseinhasbeencomparedtopresenceofa
soul,tobedistinguished,forexample,fromamind orintellect,andfromabody or
one'sflesh.
2.32. HeideggersaysthatTemporalizingSein,Isingness, ishidden,althoughitcan
becometosomedegreerevealedtotheunderstandingofhumans,oratanyrateto
somephilosophers. HearguedthatParmenideshadpointedtoaBeingwhichis
hidden,andthatHeraclitushadpointedtoahiddenbeingthatcouldberevealedto
whatwenowcall scientists. AcentralaimforHeideggerin SeinundZeitistogive
anaccountofthewayaTemporalizingSein (Isingness)isrealizedintheworld,i.e.
todescribehowDasein (Isness)isdisclosedorrevealedintheworldsoitcanbe
understoodbyhumans. Thisdisclosureorrevelationhasbeendescribedinvarious
ways: theemergenceofbeing,themeaningofbeing,thetruthofmeaning,the
comingtopassofbeing. Heideggerattimesusedtheword Ereignisforthisprocess.
Thiswordcanbetranslatedas"event"or"happening". InEnglish,thereis
"happening"asanoun,closeinmeaningto"event",and"happening"asaparticiple,
asin"Isawithappening"or"what'sthechanceofthathappening?",closeto"taking
place".
2.33. However,Ereignishasfrequentlybeentranslatedby"appropriation"which
maysuggestthattheworldisinsomemannertakingpossessionofBeing,orperhaps
theotherwayaround. Etymologically, onecantrytheseparation Ereignis",which
canberoughlyapproximatedinEnglishby enownment,or"amakingone'sown",
providedonetakesthecentral"eign"toberelatedtoeigen,"own"(adjective,asin
"that'smyownbook"). Ontheotherhand,onemighttake"eign"tohavebeen
derivedfrom"eignen","tooccur",relatedto"sichaneignen","toappropriate"or(!)
"tomisappropriate". Inhisbook EarthandGods(1961),VincentVycinastranslates
Ereignisas"coappropriation",suggestingsomesortofinteractiverelationshipof
Seinand Dasein. Onstillanotherhand,FranoiseDasturinherbookonHeidegger
saysthatthecorrectetymologyof"eign"derivesitfromAuge,"eye",referringto
somethingseen,ahappeningperceivedvisually.
2.34. In TheGenesisofHeidegger'sBeingandTime(1993),TheodoreKisielsays:
Ereignis(properizingevent,appropriatingevent)[was][c]learlydestinedfromthe
starttobethecentral"terminustechnicus"ofHeidegger'sentireDenkweg ["wayof
thinking"]toidentifytheverysourceand"primalleap"ofexperience ... Ereignis
isfirstintroducedinKNS[WorldEmergencySemester,1919]asthecentral
characterizationofthemostintenselivedexperience(Erleben)ofthehistoricalIin
closeconjunctionwiththemeaningbestowingdynamicsoftheItwhich"worlds". ..
. ThisintimateinvolvementwiththeprimalItofBeingthuspromptsthedistinction
which"happen"(passieren)tomepassionallyandmovemebysituatingme,and
processs(Vorgnge)whichpassbeforemeobjectively. ... InBT[BeingandTime],
however,theoccasionaluseof Ereignis ... returnstoitsmundanesenseof
objectifiedandreifiedimpersonalhistoricaleventspastandgone ... ItisonlyinSS
1928thatatendencybacktoitsoriginallyintimatesensebeginstoassertitself ...
[as]theUreignis[primalororiginaryevent]whichisessentiallygenerative
temporalizing.
IfIunderstandwhatKisielisdrivingat,heisinterpretingthelaterusebyHeidegger's
ofthetermEreignisasreferring,asitwere,to TemporalizingBeing(Isingness)
generating history,i.e.whathappens.
2.35. Heideggerthoughtthateveryday(ontic,inauthentic)thinkingeclipsed
authentic(correctontological)thinking. Hesearchedforafundamentalkindof
thinkingwhichtranscendsrulesoflogic(s). Truethinking,thinkinginthelightof
Being,transcendslogic,yet,hesays,doesn'tleadtoirrationalism. Forwithouta
rationalismdictatedbyrulesoflogic,thereisnoirrationalism,sinceirrationalism
involvesbreakingrulesoflogic(!). Fromadifferentangle,hespeaksoftrue
thinkingasakindofthinkingoflogos,which Beingcan disclosetohumansbyway
ofDasein. Attimes,hecomesclosetoidentifyinglogoswith Being. TheGreek
wordorlogoshasbeentranslatedintoEnglishinnumerousways,e.g.as
"reason","word","principle","standard",or"logic". TheGreekEnglishdictionary
ofLiddellandScotthasabewilderingvarietyoftranslationsfromclassicalGreek,
dependingoncontext,including"measure","account","value","relation","ratio",
"proportion","analogy","theory","thesis","argument","rule","law","principle",
"ground","thinking","reasoning","fable","legend","story","utterance","speech",
"talk","phrase"(but"rarelyasingleword"),"assertion","saying","dialogue",
"report","tradition","subjectmatter","theWordorWisdomofGod". Thislistisnot
irrelevantinviewofHeidegger'sknowledgeofclassicalGreekandhisdependence
onclassicalGreekphilosophers.
2.36. Hereisasamplesetofdefinitionsof"logos"fromtheMerriamWebster
Englishdictionaryquotedearlier:
1oftencapitalized:reasonorthemanifestationofreasonconceivedinancientGreek
philosophyasconstitutingthecontrollingprincipleintheuniverse:a:amovingand
regulatingprincipleintheuniversetogetherwithanelementinmanbywhich
accordingtoHeraclitusthisprincipleisperceivedb:acosmicgoverningor
generatingprincipleaccordingtotheStoicsthatisimmanentandactiveinallreality
andthatpervadesallrealityc:aprinciplethataccordingtoPhiloisintermediate
betweenultimateordivinerealityandthesensibleworld.
2usuallycapitalized:theactivelyexpressedcreativerevelatorythoughtandwillof
GodidentifiedintheprologueoftheGospelofSt.JohnandinvariousChristian
doctrinalworkswiththesecondpersonoftheTrinity.
Meaning1isnottoobadacharacterizationofwhatHeideggerseemstomeanby
logos. Meaning2referstothefirstverseofthebookofJohnwhichnotoriouslyhas
beentranslatedfromtheGreekNewTestamentintoEnglishas:"Inthebeginning
wastheWord,andtheWordwaswithGod,andtheWordwasGod." Wordishere
atranslationof logos. Thisparticulartranslationhasledtomanymeditationsonthe
relationshipoflogicandlanguage,andsuchrelationswereamajorconcernof
Heidegger.
2.37. VycinassaysthatforHeidegger:
...physis ...isthatwhichassemblesallthethingsintotheir'somethingnesses'by
throwingthemintotheirboundariesphysisislogos. ... logosisthe'logic'of physis
... logosisratio,thebasisofconventionallogic. ManfortheancientGreeks,by
standingin physisandthusbyunderstandingtheassemblagesorlogosof physis,was
guardingthelogos,guardingthatwhichwasassembledinin physiswhereassince
Plato,manbecamethetruepossessoroflogos. Insteadofbeinglocatedin physis,
logosbecomeslocatedinthemindor,asHeideggerindicates,inastatement.
VycinasquotesHeidegger:
Inthebeginning logosasassemblageistheoccurrenceofdisclosure,andisfounded
inandserviletoit[todisclosure]. Now,onthecontrary,logosasassemblage
becomestheplaceoftruth inthesenseofcorrectness. ItresultsintheAristotelian
thesisaccordingtowhichthelogos,[merely]asastatement,isthatwhichcanbetrue
orfalse.
ThecommentsinbracketsarebyVycinas. Heideggerdistinguishesbetween truthas
correctness,thesortofthingonecanget(ornot)byemploying logic,and truthby
disclosure,thekindofthingonecangetfromrevelationor intuition or
unconcealment(aletheia).
2.38. ItappearsthataccordingtoVycinas,physisandlogosandtemporalizedBeing
(andtheWorld)arethesameforHeidegger,although,ontheotherhand,theyarenot
thesame. Forexample,Vycinashassaid"Thebreakingthroughandcomingforward
isBeing,isphysis",andhehassaidthat"physisislogos",butthatlogosis"inthe
mind",whichIassumemeansinthemindsofpeople. Thiscontradictionis
appropriateinitsway,sinceitappearsthatphysisandlogos)and temporalizedBeing
arevariousnamesHeideggerhasgiventotheundifferentiatedOnewhichisthe
sourceofeverything,andwhichislinkedwiththeEarthandSky,with beingand
beings,whicharemany. TheOne,likeaEuclideanpoint,hasnoparts,sowhatever
nameweusefortheOnenamesthesamething. Presumablyonlytheinferiorkindof
logoswhichpeoplepossessleadstodifferencesandcontradictions. Onemightwrite
LogosforthekindwhichistheOne,andlogosforthekindPlatoandAristotleare
saidtohaveintroducedtous(explicitly).
2.39. Ontology (etymologically,onlogos,logosofbeing),asHeideggerunderstood
it,shouldtranscendallthescientificologies:psychology,biology,andsoon. He
considerspractitionersofthescientificologiestobeengagedin onticratherthan
ontologicalthinking,thatiswithakindofpracticalthinkingwhichdoesn'topenitself
totheauthentictruthofBeing. Hetookmostphilosopherswhohavebeenengagedin
ontologyuptohistimetohavebeenthinking ontically,thoughsomeoftheancient
Greekphilosophersareexplicitlyexcepted. Healsotook practitionersof theology
(logosofGod)tobeengagedinathinkingofthiskind,inasmuchasthey startedwith
faith,whereashehewasdoingwhat? Itseemshewassearchingforfaith,
searchingin SeinundZeit,andafterward.
3. OntheWaytoOneing
3.1. Authenticthinking,accordingtoHeidegger,opensustoIsingness. Forthissort
ofthinkingonemusttrytothinkwithoutnegation. Ineveryday inauthenticor
practicalthinking(including scientificthinking)weunavoidablybringtomindwhat
thethingsarenotand/oranideaofnothing,orwhatthebeingisnotand/oranideaof
nonbeing. Ineverydaythinkingaboutideasorwhenweformconcepts,we
inevitablybringtomindoppositestoandabsencesoftheideasandconcepts. When
wethinkaboutahumanbeing,wecan'thelpthinkingabouttheabsenceofthat
humanbeing. Whenweloveahumanbeing,wehavethoughtsofnotloving,oreven
ofhate. However,whenoneistotallyopentoIsingness,suchabsencesand
oppositesandcontrariesareovercome. Wethinkwithoutnegation. Aristotelianlaws
oflogicidentity,noncontradiction,excludedmiddle,nolongerconstrainus. We
arefree,wenolongerdistinguish somethingfromnothing,whatisfromwhatisn't,
norsubjectfromobject. Theclassicalmetaphysicalcategoriesof Beingand
BecomingbecameOnewhenHeideggertemporalizedtheclassical Sein.
Furthermore,Being (Isingness)andNotBeing(NonBeing,Nothingness,Not
Isingness)aremeldedtogetherandbecomeindistinguishableintheOne. TheOne
andtheManyareOnedbyHeidegger,andIsingnessones.
3.2. Thisisanultimatemonism,andverylikethemysticalunionsexperiencedand
describedbymembersofvariousreligions. Thetermssubjectandobjectcanreferto
howhumansperceive,andalsocanrefertogrammaticalcategories,thesubjectand
objectofastatement. Inlanguages,thereisauniversalavailabilityofgrammatical
negation,ofnoting,nottobeconfusedwith nothingorwith"noting"(from"to
note"). Thispointstothedifficultyof talkingorwriting aboutHeidegger'sproposed
authenticthinking. Whythenshouldwetrytothinkthisway? Toovercomethe
Parmenideanparadoxes,andfollowaHeracliteanpathbyemployingaWay(Weg,
Tao,Dao)providedforusbyHeidegger? TofindGod,andloseour(everyday,
ordinary)selves?
3.3. Ontheotherhand,GodinmostreligionsisconsideredasasourceofGood,orof
GoodandEvil. Heidegger'soneingmergestheseintotheOne. IntheTanachand
theOldTestament,Yahweh,theoneGod,canbeinterpretedasbeingthesourceof
bothGoodandEvil,Beelzebubnotwithstanding. Thiskindofdualismisexplicitly
eliminatedbyHeideggerinsomeofhiswritings. NorarethegoodGodandChristof
theNewTestamentopposedbySatan,forthatwouldbeanotherdualismwhich
Heideggerdoesn'twanttoadmitintoIsingness. Thequestionthenarises,whatis
thesourceofanethics? Heideggerrejectsarationalorlogicalfoundationforethics.
Whatthen?
4. Times: Temporalitt,Zeitlichkeit
4.1. MarjorieGreneobservedthatthereisasenseinwhichthethreebasic
characteristicsofDaseincorrespondtoafamiliarthreemodesoftimeascommonly
conceived:past,present,future. Facticity,asrelatingtotheworldoneisborninto,
involvesapastforfeitureinvolvesdistractioninapresentexistentialitypointsto
anticipationofafuture. Heideggerspeaksoftwodifferentkindsoftime,
Temporalittand Zeitlichkeit. Temporalittisnotthekindoftimewhichismeasured
bymotionsofcelestialobjectsrelativetotheearthorotherperiodicprocesses,but
ratherthekindoftimewhichisapartof Ising. Zeitlichkeit,ontheotherhand,isa
kindoftimeexperiencedbyhumansbywayofDasein. Heideggeremphasizedthat
Zeitlichkeitisnotconsciousnessoftime,asEdmundHusserlwouldhaveit(ina
Kantiantradition),butsomethingelse. AnotablepropertyofZeitlichkeit,human
time,asfurnishedby Dasein,isthatforeachhumanbeing,itisfinite. Zeitlichkeit
musthaveastop,butnot(presumably)Temporalitt. Heideggerismuchconcerned
withthefinitudeofpeoplethatis,eachoneofushasdiedorisproceedingtoward
death..
4.2. AccordingtoHeidegger,theZeitlichkeit of Daseinisnotmeanttobeoneofthe
kindsoftimefoundamongphysicistsandothernaturalscientists,noramongsocial
scientists(includingpsychologists),atleastasfarastheirprofessionsareconcerned..
NorisitlikeBergson'sduration,asfoundinindividualconsciousnessesandmore
generallyinwhathecalledcreativeevolution,akindofunmeasuredand
unspatializedtimealwayselapsingfromapastforwardintoafuture. Zeitlichkeit,as
itisgeneratedby Temporalitt,isapersonalkindoftimewhich doesnotproceed
frompasttopresenttofuture. Let'scallitItime. Itimeismeanttodescribehow
humansliveintheirrelationshipwith Isingness,andisnotmeanttorefer,for
example,toanyofthewayshumansmeasureprocessesintheworldthewaywe
"numbermotion",asAristotleputit. Intheactivityof Ising,Itimemovesfrom
futuretopasttopresent,because(foronething)foreachofus,livingproceedsfrom
orisdirectedbyawarenessofdeath. Heideggersays"Das'Wesen'desDaseinsliegt
inseinerExistenz." Kaelintranslatesthisas"Theessenceofahumanbeingliesinits
existence",butremarksthatthistranslationmaintainstheambiguitiesoftheoriginal.
Heoffersinsteadtheinterpretation"Thewayahumanbeingexistsisasaprojection
towardfuturepossibilities". However,duringthecourseofliving,whathashappened
alreadyforeachofusis(inpart)revealedoraccessible,anddisclosedtoeachofusin
whatwetaketobeeachoneofourpersonal presents,and,asKaelinremarks:
"Existinginthepresentisaselfprojectionintothefuture."
4.3. FranoiseDasturreportsthatHeidegger'sfirsttextdevotedtotimewasalecture
of27July1915entitled"TheConceptofTimeinHistoricalScience". Inhisdoctoral
dissertationof1914,Heideggerhadthankedoneofhisteachersforhavingawakened
"inthemathematicianresistanttohistoryloveandunderstandingforit." Heidegger
hadbeenattractedtoastudyofmathematicsandphysicswhenstillinhisgymnasium
years(highschool). However,heenteredtheFreiburgUniversitytostudytheology,
whichfurnishedhimwithascholarship. Hewasfurtherattractedtomathematicsby
readingEdmundHusserl's DiePhilosophiederArithmetik,andhewasmuch
influencedbyreadingHusserl'slaterwork,LogischeUntersuchungen(Logical
Investigations)inwhichHusserl(whostartedasamathematician)foundedthe
philosophicalmovementknownasphenomenology. Husserlleftthestudyof
theology,spentsometimeenrolledinthedepartmentmathematicsandphysicsatthe
university,andthenturnedtophilosophy. Hisinauguraldoctor'sdissertationwas
entitledDieLehrevomUrteilimPsychologismus(TheDoctrineofJudgmentin
Psychologism),andgrewoutofhisstudyofHusserl'swritings.
4.4. DastursaysaboutHeidegger'slectureof1915concerningtime:"Thework
pursuesanepistemologicalinquiryaimedatestablishingthespecificityoftheconcept
oftimeinhistoricalscience,inoppositiontotheconceptoftimeinthephysical
sciences." Heideggerarguesthatthetimeofphysicistsisintroducedtomake
measurementpossible,andthatforthistheyconceiveoftimeasauniformflow,
whichamounts(hesays)toidentifyingtimewithspace. QuotingDasturagain,
speakingofHeidegger's1915lecture:
Opposedtothishomogenizedandspatializedtime,whichhasbecomeamere
parameter,ishistoricaltime,whichischaracterized,onthecontrary,byitsqualitative
heterogeneity. Historicalsciencedoesnotworkwithquantities,evenwhenoccupied
withestablishingchronology,butworksinsteadonlywithsignificationsandvalues
whichexplainswhyitcannotbereducedtotheepistemologicalmodelofthenatural
sciences. ...But,overandabovethepurelyepistemologicalproblem,some
ontologicalconsiderationsalreadyappearaboutwhatconstitutes"true"time,whichis
notphysicaltimeandischaracterizedbydiversityandheterogeneity.
4.5. In1924,Heideggergavealectureinwhichheassertedthattheconceptof
eternityisderivedfromourordinaryexperience(s)oftime,whichhecallsDasein.
Hearguesthatconceptsof eternitywhichinvolvetimelessnessorneverendingtime
arebasedonthekindoftimeweexperienceinourdailylives. Heproposesthatthe
question"whatistime?"betransformedinto"whoistime?",withtheanswerthatwe
ourselvesaretime. HesaysthatDaseinistime,and,expressingthetemporalityof
Being(Sein)thatDaseinis"theBeingofthisentitythatweknowashuman life".
Furthermore,hearguesthattime,asgiventohumans,isinextricablyreceivedas
relatedtoourdeaths. WedonotexperienceauthenticTimeasasequenceofneutral
nows,muchlessaregularorperiodicsequenceof nows,asonefindamongscientists,
orthekindofclocktimeswithwhichpeopleusetoregulateortrytoregulatetheir
lives,butratherasaVorlaufen,a"runningtoward"ourdeaths. Hemayhavearrived
atthisideabywayofhisunderstandingoftheChristianbeliefin parousia,thesecond
comingofChrist,althoughheisconcernedtofindphilosophicalgroundsand
descriptionsratherthantheologicalonesbasedon faith.
4.6. Dasturwrites:
Heideggerdiscoveredtheconceptionoforiginaltemporalityasauthenticfutureinthe
firstepisodeofSt.PaultotheThessalonians,whichhecommenteduponinacourse
givenduringthewintersemester,192021,IntroductiontothePhenomenologyof
Religion. TheChristianexperienceinvolvesanewconceptionofeschatologyinthe
sensethattheauthenticChristianrelationtoparousia,thatit,tothesecondcomingto
presenceofChrist,signalingtheendoftime,isnottheawaiting ofafutureeventbut
thereadinessfortheimminenceofthecoming. Havingarelationtoparousiameans
beingreadyinthepresentratherthanbeinginexpectationofaneventthathasnotyet
takenplace:thequestion"When?"hasbecomethequestion"How tolive?" namely,
inthemodeofreadiness. Infact,whatreallyinterestsHeideggerintheoriginal
Christianexperienceisnotthefactthatitisafaithinthisorthatcontentofrevelation,
butthatitisanexperienceoflifeinitsfacticity,thatis,alifewhichtakesno
theoreticaldistancefromitselfbutunderstandsitselfwithintherealmofitsown
unfolding. Becausethislifedoesnotattempttoprovidean"objective"representation
ofexistencebymeansofchronologicalreferencepintsandcalculablecontents,it
remainsdeliveredovertoanindeterminatefutureandtotheunmasterablecharacter
oftimeitsituatestime,consideredasawhole,lessinthechronosthaninthekairos,
intheopportunemoment,themomentofdecision. ... Heideggercallsthis
nonobjectifiablerelationwithtimehistoricality ...
4.7. ThisremindsofamottooftheAlcoholicsAnonymousmovement: Liveoneday
atatime. Anotherrecommendationofthatmovementistoturnone'slifeovertoa
"Powergreaterthanone'sself",God"asyouunderstandHim",orifthatwon'tdo,to
something whichonehypostatizes. Iquotefromanarticlein Fortunemagazine,Feb
1951: "GraduallythephraseasyouunderstandHimtakeshold.Sometimesthe
conceptoftheHigherPowercanbeacceptedonlybysomeelaboratestratagem. One
alcoholic,determinedinhisagnosticism,atlastsolvedhisproblembyacceptingasa
Powergreaterthanhimselfthesteamradiatorthanclankedandhissedinhis
miserableroom. Itwashotandfullofenergyandburnedhimwhenhetouchedit. It
wassufficient. Theradiatorclankedinscrutablythealcoholicstoppeddrinking". I'm
ledtothinkaboutHeidegger'sBeing,hisSein,ascomingoutofasteamradiator,
furnishingakindofheatorenergy,callitTemporalitt,whichisdisclosedviaDasein
toanalcoholicasZeitlichkeit,timeof whichthealcoholicisconsciousinwardly,but
mayormaynotmeasurebyreferencetosomethingexternal. ThetimeofBeing,the
Temporalitt,disclosesinsuchawaythatahumanbeinglooksforward,afunctionof
Zeitlichkeit,thetimeofDasein. Butduringtheperiodwhenanalcoholicistryingto
giveupalcohol,heorshemaybeovercomebyanxietyordread(Angst),sothetrick
istostrivetonotlooktoofarforward. Thistechniquemaymakeiteasierforthe
alcoholictocareabouthimselforherselfmore,andfacilitatesobriety. Such caring
(Sorge)soundslikeanotherfeatureoftheexistenceofahumanbeingfurnishedby
Sein.
4.8. Thethoughthasstruckmethatinordertogiveanametothesortof
Parmenidean OnewhichHeideggerhasledmetoponder,onemightbetterusethe
termTemporalitt,ratherthan Sein. AsfarasIknow,thisisneverdoneby
Heidegger,andthenameSeinisfirmlyestablishedforwhathewasafter. Indeed,it
mightbethathewouldhaveobjectedtosuchasubstitution. Analternativeformeis
tousethetermIsingnessIintroducedearlier,when,itappears,Ialreadyhad
somethinglikethismind.
5. SeinundZeit,BeingandTime:theBook
5.1. Andsowecometo SeinundZeit, BeingandTime,thebookwhich made
Heideggerfamous,publishedin1927. IwillexaminecertainpartsoftheIntroduction
indetail,thenskipovertotreatmentsoftime(s),thusleavingout,forexample,
sectionswhichdealwithspace. IwillworkwiththeEnglishtranslationbyJohn
MacquarrieandEdwardRobinson(M&R),1962,checkingonoccasionagainstthe
translationbyJoanStambaugh(JS),1996andacopyofthe11thunrevisededitionin
GermanpublishedbytheMaxNiemayerVerlagin1967(SZ).
5.2. Insection5ofpartIIof theIntroduction,Heideggerannouncestheimportance
oftimeingettingat,oropeningoneselftotheSeinofDasein,theBeingofbeingin
theworld. Hesays,inthetranslationbyM&R:
WeshallpointtotemporalityasthemeaningoftheBeingofthatentitywhichwecall
"Dasein". ... InthusinterpretingDaseinastemporality,however,weshallnotgive
theanswertoourleadingquestionastothemeaningofBeingingeneral. Butthe
groundwillhavebeenprepared forobtainingsuchananswer.
ThetranslationbyJShasforthis:
ThemeaningofthebeingofthatbeingwecallDaseinprovestobetemporality
[Zeitlichkeit]. ... WhileitistruethatwiththisinterpretationofDaseinas
temporalitytheanswertotheguidingquestionaboutthemeaningofbeingingeneral
isnotalreadygiven,thesoilfromwhichwemayreapitwillneverthelessbe
prepared.
InSZ,weread:
AlsderSinndesSeinsdesSeienden,daswirDaseinnennen,wirddieZeitlichkeit
aufgewiesen. ... AbermitdieserAuslegungdesDaseinsalsZeitlichkeitistnicht
auchschondieAntwortaufdieleitendeFragegegeben,dienachdemSinnvonSein
berhauptsteht. WohlaberinderBodenfrdieGewinnungdieserAntwort
bereitgestellt.
5.3. Wecanseealreadysomeoftheproblemsonehasintryingtomakeoutwhat
Heideggerisgettingat,especiallyifoneisnotanativespeakerofGerman,oratleast
fluentinGerman,andtriestoworkbywayofEnglishtranslations. Inthefirst
sentenceofthisquotation,wesee,asIpointedoutearlier,thatM&Rtranslate
Seiendenwith"entity",whichlosesthecognativity,therelationshipof Seiendenwith
Sein(thelowercasesin Seinsisasignalforagenitive). InthetranslationbyJS,this
is,sotospeak,overpreserved,sinceSeinandSeiendenarebothtranslatedwiththe
sameterm,"being". InthelightofwhatIhavesaidearlier,afirstreactionmightbe
toaltertheJSversionto"ThemeaningoftheBeingofthatbeingwecallDasein
provestobetemporality[Zeitlichkeit]." Thisassumesthatareaderhassome
interpretationofDasein alreadyavailable,butthisismoreorlessreasonablesince
HeideggerhasearlierintheIntroductiongivensomeindicationofwhathemeansby
thisterm. However,thereisstillaproblem,insofarasgrammatically Seienden
appearstobeplural,soitseemsweshouldreplace"Beingofthatbeing"with"Being
ofthosebeings",andthisisquiteoftendone. Thisindicates,then,thatDaseinrefers
tothebeing(intheworld)ofhumansasawhole,thatisto"human being",andnotto
"humanbeings"thewaythistermisusedinpopulationstudiesorbiologyor,as
Heideggersays,onticallyratherthan ontologically. ThisseemstoexplainwhyJS
wrote"beingofbeing"ratherthan"beingofbeings",althoughsheleavesthe
entanglementwhichIhavetriedtoilluminatebyputting"Beingofbeing",andIleave
theambiguitiesoftheterms"being"and"beings".
5.4. Heideggercontinues(viaM&RtheitalicsareintheGerman):
WehavealreadyintimatedthatDaseinhasapreontologicalBeingasitsontically
constitutivestate. Dasein isinsuchawayastobesomethingwhichunderstands
somethinglikeBeing. Keepingthisinterconnectionfirmlyinmind,weshallshow
thatwheneverDaseintacitlyunderstandsandinterpretssomethinglikeBeing,itdoes
sowith timeasitsstandpoint. Timemustbebroughttolightandgenuinely
conceivedasthehorizonforallunderstandingofBeingandforanywayof
interpreting. Inorderforustodiscernthis,timeneedstobeexplicatedprimordially
asthehorizonfortheunderstandingofBeing,andintermsoftemporalityasthe
BeingofDasein,whichunderstandsBeing. Thistaskasawholerequiresthatthe
conceptionoftimethusobtainedshallbedistinguishedinthewayitisordinarily
understood. ... Herewemustmakeclearthatthisconceptionoftimeand,in
general,theordinarywayofunderstandingit,havesprungfromtemporality,andwe
mustshowhowthishascomeabout. Weshalltherebyrestoretotheordinary
conceptiontheautonomywhichisitsrightful due,asagainstBergson'sthesisthatthe
timeonehasinthisconceptionisspace.
5.5. Ihavediscussedearlierthecontrastbetweenonticalandontological. Itappears
thatintheabovequotationHeideggerissaying,tostartwith,thatpeopleastheylive
theirliveshaveacapacitytounderstandBeing,which,whateverthatis,isunliketheir
everyday being. M&Rareevidentlybotheredbythesecondsentenceoftheir
translation,sincetheygivetheoriginalforitinafootnote: Dasein istinderWeise,
seiendsoetwaswieSeinzuverstehen. Iwilltranslatethiswith"Dasein issuchthat
itsbeingisofasorttounderstandBeing",i.e.peopleareabletounderstandBeing,
whateverthatis,withovertonesof "whethertheydosoornot",andHeidegger
perhapsshouldn'tbetakentomeanahumanbeingcan completelyunderstandBeing.
Also,IexpectthatinlightoflaterstatementsbyHeidegger,weshouldn'tunderstand
thisuseof"understand"insomeeverydaysense,orinsomescientificortraditional
epistemologicalsense. JShasforthisline: "Dasein isinsuchawaythat,bybeing,
itunderstandssomethinglikebeing." Besidestheconfusionwhich arisesby
translatingthepresentparticipleseiendandtheverbalnoun Seinwiththesameword
"being",thistranslation,liketheonebyM&R,hasaproblemwiththephrase
"somethinglikebeing",whichinEnglishratherstronglysuggeststhatBeingisa
thing,asomething,insomewaylikethethingsapersonmeetseveryday,orthat
scientistsstudy. Heideggeroftenspeaksagainstthisinterpretation. Thissuggestion
appearstobeabsentintheGermanversion,sinceetwasandsoetwaswieseemto
lackthisforce,andtosuggestrathersomerelationtowas,"what", asinthe
translation"DaseinisthesortofbeingwhatunderstandsBeing". Theuseof"what"
insteadoftheusual"that"inthissentencedoesoccurinsomedialectsofEnglish.
5.6. Thepreviousparagraphshowsoncemorethesortofthingonegetsintointrying
tointerpretHeidegger'sspeech,certainlyusingEnglish,andIexpectalsoinGerman
indifferentways. Heideggersaysthatwhen Dasein,orthebeingofDasein,
understandsorinterpretsBeing,itdoesso"with timeasitsstandpoint". The
translationbyM&Rofthethirdlineinthequotation,givenabove,seemstometo
befurtherfromtheoriginal(whichIwillforegoquoting)thanthatofJS:
"Rememberingthisconnection,wemustshowthattimeisthatfromwhichDasein
tacitlyunderstandsandinterpretssomethinglikebeingatall". Iwould,asusual,
replacetheword"being"with"Being",andtheuseof"something"issubjecttothe
samecriticismasinthepreviousparagraph. AsIseeit,Heideggerissayingthat
humansgetatBeing(whentheydo)bywayof time,but,ashegoesontosay,the
kindof timeinvolvedisnotthesortthatclocksorcelestialmovementsmeasure,or
thatcanberepresentedspatially,e.g.usingastraightlineinthewaymathematicians
andphysicistsdo. Here,Heidegger'sphenomenologyshows,asheinheriteditfrom
EdmundHusserl,anddifferencescometomindbetween,ononehand,our
experiencesandconsciousnessoftime,ourinnertimeconsciousnessaspresentedby
KantandHusserl,and,ontheotherhand,timeasmeasuredbyexternalchangesand
motions,makinguseofspatialperceptionsorcountingmethodssuchasthose
obtainedbyatomicclocks(althoughinnercountingisalsopossible).
5.7. Iampuzzledbytheuseoftheword"horizon"(Horizont)inthenexttwo
sentencesofthequotation. Onmeaningofthiswordisskyline,wheretheearthmeets
thesky,whichforsomeoneonthegroundisalwaysatadistance. However,aphrase
suchas"tobroadenone'shorizon(s)"(seinenHorizonterweitern)means"toextend
thetherangeofone'svisionorunderstandingorexperience". ItisoddofHeidegger
tospeakofthekindoftimehehasinmind,aphenomenologicaltimeusingatermso
evocativeof spaceas"horizon"is,sincehegoesontosaythathedoesn'tmeanthis
kindof timetobe"spatial". Perhapshemeansthatapersoncan'trelatetoBeingina
flash,butthatittakestimeforsucharelationtooccurorperhapshejustmeansthat
Daseinbeingwhatitistohim,apersonnecessarilyencountersBeing thewaya
personencounterseverythingelseofwhichapersonbecomesconscious. Kaelin
discussesthispoint. Hesays:
Howisittobeunderstoodthatananalyticofourhumanbeing(Daseinanalytic)will
yielda"horizon"foraninterpretationofBeingingeneral? Ananswermaybefound
inconsideringthefunctionofanaturalhorizon,thelimitofourvisualfield. For
Heidegger,allexplanationsaregivenfromaparticularpointofviewourplaceina
world,fromwhichweprojectananticipatedstateofclosure[finalunderstanding,at
leastprovisionally?]onthebasisofwhatwealreadyunderstandaboutour
relationshiptotheobjectsofthatworld. Asinourvisualfield,the"horizon"foran
interpretationisthefurthestpoint[setofpoints,circle?]ofprojectionandall
"meanings"mustbedetectedbetweenthehereandthethereoftheprojection. Thus,
whenHeideggerstatesthatananalyticofourhumanbeingwill laybareahorizonfor
determiningthemeaningofBeing ingeneral,hemeanstocalltoourattentionthefact
thattemporalitywillbefoundtobethemeaningofourhumanbeingascaring,and
thatitisinrespecttothatthatwemayfindthegroundsforexplainingthebeingof
anyentitywhatsoever.
Tounderstand(provisionally)that"temporalitywillbefoundtobethemeaningof
ourhumanbeingascaring",onecanrecallthattheZeitlichkeit,or time(s)inthe
world,furnishedby Temporalitt,theTimeofBeingor TimewhichisBeingorIs
ingness,istheexplanationofhowitcomesaboutthatwetakecare(Heidegger's
Sorge)toexistinourworld(s). Iwriteworld(s)toindicatethatspeakingof"our
world"isambiguous,sinceitmaybetakentosignifyasingle"world"forall,or
different,thoughrelated,worldsforeachindividual.
5.8. Afinalcommentaboutthequotedparagraph: Thewordtranslatedby
"temporality"isZeitlichkeit. AsIdiscussedearlier,Heideggerusestwowordswhich
maybetranslatedby"temporality",ZeitlichkeitandTemporalitt. Atthisstage,
Heideggerhasn'tdistinguishedbetweenthesetwo,so"temporality"hereremains
suspendedbetweenordinary,everydaytime(s),andthetimeof Being,whateverthat
turnsouttobe.
5.9. IpassnowtothenextparagraphsoftheIntroductiontoBeingandTimeinthe
translationbyM&R,whichIwillpresentintheformofadialoguebetween
Heidegger'sstatements(MH)andmetalkingtomyself(GF):
MH: 'Timehaslongfunctionedasanontologicalorratheranontical criterion
fornavelydiscriminatingvariousrealmsofentities.
GF: (tohimself,hereandthroughoutthedialogue Heideggerdoesn'tspeaktome,
buthandsmestatementsonapieceofpaper,orsometimesonacomputerscreen)
Maybeboth,dependingoncontext?.
MH: Adistinctionhasbeenmadebetween'temporal'entities[zeitlichSeiendes]
(naturalprocessesandhistoricalhappenings)and'nontemporal'entities[unzeitlich
Seiendes](spatialandnumericalrelationships).
GF: Sowehavevariouskindsof times:(1)thetimesofnaturalprocesses,whichmay
includetheunnumericalizedandphenomenologicaltimesofeverydaylivingasan
outcomeof Dasein (2)thetimesofhistory(Geschichte,whathashappened),the
timesofthehistoryofhistorians(Historie,whatissaidaboutwhathashappened)(3)
thespatializedandnumericalizedtimesofmathematiciansandphysicists,aswellas
thesortreadeverydayfromclocksand/ormoreorlessregularmotionsoftheearth
and(other)relevantcelestialobjects. Therearetimesinsideofpeople,involving
consciousnessorselfconsciousness,andtherearetimesoutsideofpeople,
chronologicaltimes,and timestomeasuremotionswith. (DidIhearsomeoneask for
onetimeatatime? Iwon'tproceedtoasingletimeorTime here,ascanbeseenby
myuseofthepluraloftheword"time". Ofcourse,hereI'mnotusing"times"insuch
sensesasin"thegoodoldtimes",or"thetimeswhenthealarmwentoff"or"the
motionwillbeinterruptedatvarioustimes,whichIwilltrytorecord". Ihavein
mindthemanydifferentpossibleandavailableconceptsandexplicationsoftheterm
"time",astheitalicization timesismeanttoemphasize.)
MH: Weareaccustomed tocontrastingthe'timeless'meaningofpropositionswith
the'temporal'courseofpropositionalassertions.
GF: Shadesofclassicalmetaphysicsandlogics,temporallogic,philosophiesof
language(s)andliterature(s),theoriesoftruthandfalsity,postmodernisticcritical
theories,etc.
MH: Itisheldthatthereisa'cleavage'between'temporal'entities[zeitlichSeienden]
andthe'supratemporal'eternal[berzeitlichenEwigen],andeffortsaremadeto
bridgethisover.
GF: Moreshadesofclassicalmetaphysics,andshadesorshadowsoftheology.
MH: Here'temporal'alwaysmeanssimplybeing[seiend]"intime" adesignation
which,admittedly,isstillprettyobscure. TheFactremainsthattime,inthesenseof
'being[sein]intime',functionsasacriterionfordistinguishingrealmsofBeing.
Hithertonoonehasaskedortroubledtoinvestigatehowtimehascometohavethis
distinctiveontologicalfunction,orwithwhatrightanythingliketimefunctionsas
suchacriterionnothasanyoneaskedwhethertheauthenticontologicalrelevance
whichispossiblewhichispossibleforit,getsexpressedwhen"time:isusedinso
navelyontologicalamanner. 'Time'hasacquiredthis'selfevident'ontological
function'ofitsownaccord'sotospeakindeedithasdonesowithinthehorizonof
thewayitisordinarilyunderstood. Andithasmaintaineditselfinthisfunctionto
thisday.
GF: Aha! Sothetimesofeverydaylives,andofscientistsandhistorians,theontic
times,areusedin connectionwithexplicationsofBeing,asiftheywereapplicableto
Being (and,Ipresume,to NonBeing andNothingness), asif theycouldbeusedto
getatBeingontologically. Thisisputdownasbeing nave,horribiledictu.
MH: Incontrasttoallthis,ourtreatmentofthequestionofthemeaningofBeing
mustenableustoshowthatthecentralproblematicofallontology isrootedinthe
phenomenonoftime,ifrightlyseenandrightlyexplained,andwemustshowhow this
iscase.
GF: SoMHhasdepictedhisgoal. Heison derWegzurSprache(nameofaworkby
MH,translatedasOntheWaytoLanguage),aswellonhiswaytogettingridof
classicalmetaphysicsandontologies,contaminatedastheyarewith onticities,soto
speak,andproducingan authenticontology. Itappearsthatheisinsearchofakind
ofUrzeit,aprimordialTime,Temporalitt, whichisattherootofallthoseontic
times,thoseZeitlichkeiten. orshouldthatbeZeiten?
MH: (alittlelater) ThusthefundamentalontologicaltaskofinterpretingBeingas
suchincludes workingouttheTemporality[Temporalitt]of Being.
GF: Sowehavenowboth temporality(Zeitlichkeit)andTemporality(Temporalitt).
Thelatteristheonepresentin Being,whiletheformerdesignatespresenttopeople
whentheyarebeingintheworld(Dasein).
5.10. MHgoesontosaythatweshouldgobacktothe"Ancients"tostartour
"concreteontologicalresearch"with"aninvestigativeinquirywhichkeepsuswithin
thehorizonwehavelaidbare". IsaidearlierthatIwaspuzzledbyHeidegger'suseof
theword"horizon"(Horizont)inthiscontext. Nowitseemstomethathedidhavein
mindsomethinglike"seeingatdistance",thedistanceherebeingatimelikeone,a
lookbackwardsinhistoricaltimetocertainancientGreekphilosophers,orperhaps
thereferenceismoretothedifficultyofapersonseeingthroughtoBeingasif Being
werefarawayfromtheperson'sapprehensionorunderstanding.
5.11. Heideggersays(M&R):
""Historicality"standsforthestateofBeingthatisconstitutiveforDasein's
'historizing'assuchonlyonthebasisofsuch'historizing'isanythinglike'world
history'possibleorcananythingbelonghistoricallytoworldhistory. Initsfactical
Being,anyDaseinisasitalreadywas,anditis'what'italreadywas. Itisitspast,
whetherexplicitlyornot. Andthisissonotonlyinthatitspastis,asitwere,pushing
itselfalong'behind'it,andDaseinpossesseswhatispastasapropertywhichisstill
presentathandandwhichsometimeshasaftereffectsonit: Dasein'is'itspastinthe
wayof itsownBeing,which,toputitroughly,'historizes'outofitsfutureoneach
occasion. Whateverthewayofbeingitmayhaveatthetime,andthuswith whatever
understandingofBeingitmaypossess,Daseinhasgrownupbothintoandina
traditionalwayofinterpretingitself: intermsofthisitunderstandsitselfproximally
and,withinacertainrange,constantly. Bythisunderstanding,thepossibilitiesofits
Beingaredisclosedandregulated. Itsownpast andthisalwaysmeansthepastof
its'generation' isnotsomethingwhich followsalongafterDasein,butsomething
whichalreadygoesaheadofit.
Itwilltakesomedoingtounravelthis! Let'sseeifthetranslationbyJSisofanyhelp
(Iwillcapitalizeherword"beingwhenitcomesfromtheword Sein) :
HistoricitymeanstheconstitutionofBeingofthe"occurrence"ofDaseinassuchit
isthegroundforthefactthatsomethinglikethedisciplineof"worldhistory"isatall
possibleandhistoricallybelongstoworldhistory. InitsfactualBeingDaseinalways
isasand"what"italreadywas. Whetherexplicitlyornot,itisitspast. Itisitsown
pastnotonlyinsuchawaythatitspast,asitwere,pushesitselfalong"behind"it,
andthatitpossesseswhatispastasapropertythatisstillobjectivelypresent,andat
timeshasaneffectonit. Dasein"is"itspastinthemannerof itsBeingwhich,
roughlyexpressed,oneachoccasion"occurs"outofitsfuture. Initsmannerof
existing[M&Rtranslate"existing"with"being",uncapitalized]atanygiventime,
andaccordinglyalsowiththeunderstandingofBeingthatbelongstoit,Dasein
growsintoacustomaryinterpretationofitselfandgrowsupinthatinterpretation. It
understandsitselfintermsofthisinterpretationatfirst,andwithinacertainrange,
constantly. ThisunderstandingdisclosesthepossibilitiesofitsBeingandregulates
them. Itsownpastandthatalwaysmeansthatofits"generation" doesnotfollow
afterDaseinbutratheralwaysalreadygoesaheadofit.
Thishelpsalittle,butIexpectitwillbebesttocomparethesewiththeoriginal. MH
has:
GeschichlichtkeitmeintdieSeinverfassungdes"Geschehens"desDaseinsals
solchen,aufdessenGrundeallererstsoetwasmglichwie"Weltgeschichte"und
geschichtlichzurWeltgeschichtegehrt. DasDaseinistjeinseinemfaktischenSein,
wieand"was"esschonwar. Obausdrcklichodernicht,istesseineVergangenheit.
Unddasnichtnurso,dasssichihmseineVergangenheitgleichsam"hinter"ihm
herschiebt,undesVergangenesalsnochverhandeneEigenschaftbesitzt,diezuweilen
inihmnachwirkt. DasDasein"ist"ausseinerZukunfther"geschieht". DasDasein
istinseinerjeweiligenWeisezuseinandsonachauchmitdemihmzugehrigen
SeinsverstndnisineineberkommeneDaseinsauslegunghineinundinihr
aufgewachsen. AusdieserherverstehtessichzunchstundingewissenUmkreis
stndig. DieseVerstndniserschliesstdieMglichkeitenseinesSeinsundregeltsie.
SeineeigeneVergangenheitunddasbesagtimmerdieseine"Generation" folgt
demDaseinnichtnach,sonderngehtihmjeschonvorweg.
Let'strytohackawaythroughthisthicket.
5.12. ItakeitthatGeschichtlichkeit,translatedby"historicality"(M&R)and
"historicity"byJS,referstowhathappensintheworld,ascontrastedwithwhat
historianssayhappensintheworld. ThissuggeststhattheJStranslationisbetter
thantheonebyM&Rcf.thisdefinitionfromaMerriamWebsterdictionary: "a
conditionofbeingplacedinthestreamofhistoricaldevelopmentsalso:aresultof
suchplacement". ThinkingofthetermSeinverfassungandGeschehenasmeaning,
respectively,somethingontheorderof"constitutiveBeing"and"events",Iamledto
thisparaphraseoftheabovequotation:
TheeventsoftheworldproceedfromBeing (Isingness),andthismakesitpossible
forwhatissaidabouttheeventstobeeventsthemselves. Peopleintheworldareas
andwhattheyhavealreadybecome. Whetherknowntothemornot,peoplearetheir
pasts. Andthatisnotonlybecausetheirpast,asitwere,pushesthemfrombehind,
andbecausetheirpastsarestillathand,andsometimeshaveaneffectonthem. What
happenstopeopleastheylive,happenstothemfromoutoftheirfutures. Peoplelive
intheirparticularwayandthuswiththeirunderstandingofthemselvesgrowupinto
andintraditionalinterpretationsoftheirexistence. Fromthis,theyunderstand
themselvestobeginwith,andtoacertainextentcontinuetodoso. This
understandingrevealsthepossibilitiesoftheirBeingandgovernsthem. Their
particularpastsandthatmeansthosegeneratedby Being don'tfollowafterthem,
butarealreadyinfrontofthem.
Onemighttakeitthatthelastsentenceisadeclarationthataperson'sfutureis
predetermined,becausethat'stheway Being[Isingness]is,oracts,orworks. This
wouldmakeitsoundlikeHeideggerisdeclaringdeclaringinfavorofa
predeterminism,andagainstfreewill. IdoubtthatHeideggersubscribedtosucha
Calvinisticbelief. Hemorelikelyhadinmindhowwelivewithhopesandfears,
desiresandaversions,expectationsfromlife,andforHeidegger,especiallydreadof
death,suchbeingdone,aswesay,inthelightofourpasts,partsofwhichguideor
misguideus. Heideggersaysthatourpasts,asitwere,pushusfrombehind. Our
futures,ontheotherhand,maybesaidtopullusfromahead,asitwere,onourways
toourdeaths,andthere'snothingwecandoabout,solongasweshalllive. While
sometimesweliveinthepast,especiallyasweage,wealwaysmustlookforwardto,
wemustlookahead. Ifwerewordthistosaythattime(Zeit)pushesusandpullsus,
weseemtoinvokeanactiveprincipleof Dasein,oflivingintheworld,whichrecalls
wayssomeancientpoetsandothercreatorsofmyththoughtof time,e.g.as
Chronos. Ibeganthisstudybyinvokingsuchpersonificationsoftime. Itappears
thatHeideggerislookingforsomesource,someexplanationofthisphenomenonina
kindof Time(Temporalitt)ofBeing(Sein),withwhichtotransformoraugment
ordestroy ourunderstandingsofBeinginheritedfromallthepreviousontologists
andmetaphysicianswhofailedtofollowinthefootstepsofcertainancientGreeks,
andfailedtoilluminateordisclosetemporalizedBeing(Isingness)toothers,and
presumablytothemselves.
5.13. Inasectionentitled"TheTask[orProblem]ofDestroyingtheHistoryof
Ontology",HeideggerannouncesthathewillcorrectandgobeyondDescartesand
Kantinhispursuitoftime(s)andTime(s) (M&R):
InpursuingthistaskofdestructionwiththeproblematicofTemporalityasourclue,
weshalltrytointerpretthechapterontheschematismandtheKantiandoctrineof
time,takingthatchapterawsourpointofdeparture. Atthesametimeweshallshow
whyKantcouldneverachieveaninsightintotheproblematicofTemporality. There
weretwothingsthatstoodinhisway: inthefirstplace,healtogetherneglectedthe
problemofBeingand,inconnectionwiththis,hefailedtoprovideanontologywith
Daseinasitsthemeor(toputthisinKantianlanguage)togiveapreliminary
ontologicalanalyticofthesubjectivityofthesubject. Insteadofthis,Kanttookover
Descartes'positionquitedogmatically,notwithstandingalltheessentialrespectsin
whichhehadgonebeyondhim. Furthermore,inspiteofthefactthathewasbringing
thephenomenonoftimebackintothesubjectagain,hisanalysisofitremained
orientedtowardsthetraditionalwayinwhichtimehadbeenordinarilyunderstoodin
thelongrunthiskepthimfromworkingoutthephenomenonofa'transcendental
determinationoftime'initsownstructureandfunction. Becauseofthisdoubleeffect
oftraditionthedecisiveconnectionbetween timeandthe'Ithink'wasshroudedin
utterdarknessitdidnotevenbecomeaproblem.
SowehaveagainasummaryofwhatHeideggerisafterin SeinundZeit. Thereisa
suggestionthatKant'sdepictionofan unknowableand indescribablereality,thething
initself,thenoumenon,iswhatconstitutedKant'sneglectofBeing. Also,Heidegger
says,Kantfailedtotakeintoconsiderationtherelationshipof Beingtotheeveryday
kindsoflivingcoveredbythetermDasein. Andfurthermore,Kanthasconceivedof
timeinthewayscientists(naturalphilosophers)likeNewtondid,andinthewayitis
measuredbythemotionsinclocksandintheskies,andothersortsofmotion.
HeideggerisinsearchoftheprimordialTimeof Being,which,heexpects,willbe
foundintheconsciousnessesofhumansubjects.
5.14. Heideggerassignsthefailureof Descartestotakeapositionon Beingtohis
failuretotakeintoaccounttherelationof Beingto Dasein,beingintheworld. When
Descartestookasastartingpointforphilosophizinghis"cogitoergosum","Ithink,
thereforeIam",heleftundetermined,accordingtoHeidegger,"themeaningofthe
Beingofthe'sum',ofthe"Iam"or"Iexist",whichforHeideggerisoneof
connotationsofhistermDasein. HeideggerfindsthatinDescartes'Meditationesa
personisdefinedasan ens("being"),andthatthemeaningof Beingforsuchan ensis
thatofenscreatum,createdbeing,whichinmedievalontologyiscontrastedtoGod,
ensincreatum,uncreatedbeing. Heidegger'spointseemstobethatDescartestook
Godoutofthepicture,andfailedtoprovideaphilosophicallysatisfactory
replacement.
5.15. HeideggerintroducesherehisspecialuseoftheworddieGegenwartwhichin
somecontextscanmean presenceinthesenseofbeingataplaceorbeing presenton
someoccasion,approximatelysynonymouswith Anwesenheit,asin inGegenwart
vonandinAnwesenheitvon,"inthepresenceof". However,themorecommon
meaningof dieGegenwartisthepresentascontrastedwith thepastorthefuture. M
&RremarkthatHeideggerseemstothinkofthesemeaningsasfusedtogether. They
translatedieGegenwartas"thePresent"withacapital,todistinguishitfromthe
relatedadjectivegegenwrtig,whichalsocarriestwomeanings,"atthepresenttime",
andin gegenwrtigsein,"tobepresent". Inotethat"hewaspresentatherwedding"
canbetranslatedintotheawkward"hewasinthepresentofherwedding",which
referstoapresentwhichispast,and"hewillbepresentatherwedding"maybe
takentorefertoapresentwhichisfuture.
5.16. HeideggerpromisestogiveaninterpretationofAristotle'streatmentoftimein
thePhysics,butinfactthisneverappeared. AttheendoftheIntroductiontoSein
undZeit,Heideggerliststhetopicsheintendstocoverinthebook,andAristotle's
explicationof timeisthelastitemonthelistforPartTwoofSeinundZeit.However,
PartTwoneverappeared,nordidthethirdandlastpartofPartOne,whichhasthe
titleZeitundSein. ProbablywhatHeideggerhadinmindwhenhereversedtheorder
of"Sein"and"Zeit"washowhewouldexposeakindoftimeasintrinsicin Sein
(Being),unliketraditionalmetaphysicianswhomadeSein atemporal. Hecametocall
thiskindoftimeTemporalitttodistinguishitfromZeit,atermhereservedfor
conceptionsoftimeasfoundintheworld,i.e.in Dasein. ThetwosectionsofPart
Onewhichdidappeararedevotedtoastudyofthislatterkindoftime,whichhe
called Zeitlichkeit. M&RtranslateZeitlichkeitas"temporality",uncapitalized,and
Temporalittas"Temporality",capitalized. Insteadofthismaneuver,onemight
introducetheword"timeness"totranslateZeitlichkeit,or,inthespiritofHeidegger's
attachmenttoetymologies,onemightformsuchatermas"timelikeness".
5.17. TherestoftheIntroductiontoSeinundZeit isdevotedtoanexplicationofthe
methodHeideggerintendstouse,aversionofHusserl'sphenomenologicalmethod. I
won'tgointothishere,excepttosaythatHeideggerpromotesthismethodasawayto
revealtheBeingofentities,ascontrastedwiththeirbeing. Isuggestthatsomeideaof
whathehasinmindistheproposalthatbyconsideringentitiesasthey arein
themselves,withoutpresuppositionsortheoriesaboutthem,thefundamental Oneor
Isingnesswhichisthesourceofexistenceandnonexistence(calleddeath)willbe
disclosedtosomedegree.
5.18. SomuchforHeidegger'sIntroductiontoSeinundZeit,inwhichhehaslaidout
hisprogram. Inhiscommentary,Being&Time,AReadingforReaders(1988),E.F.
Kaelinsays:
Ofthethreeaimssetforthinhisintroduction reposingthequestionofthemeaning
ofBeing,undertakingthe"destruction"ofthehistoryofontology,andconstructing
ananalyticofhumanbeing onlythethirdwasachieved. Whatdoesexistofthe
othertwointendedprojectswasneverachievedbythemethoddescribedinthe
introduction,nor,inmyview,couldithavebeen. Howcouldhumanspeech,evenon
thebasisofanalyzingtemporality,themeaningofitsbeing,allowBeingingeneralto
showitselffromitselfasitisinitself? TheveryconceptofBeingingeneral,which
isnotthebeingofahumannotyetofanonhumanentity,hasneverbeenmadeclear.
Ifbeingisalwaysthebeingofsomeentity,whatitthatBeingwhich,initsgenerality,
maybeattributedtoanyentity? Andbyvirtueofwhatisanysuchattributiontobe
madeanAristotelianlike"analogy"? Ifso,wewouldnothaveprogressedin
ontology,andoutdestructionofthehistoryofthedisciplinewouldmerely havebeen
itsreinstauration. Somanyquestions,somanydoubts.....
Itappears,then,thatasfarasthemainbodyof SeinundZeit isconcerned,asitwas
published,wecan'texpecttofindaclarificationofwhat,sotospeak,isbehind
human being,beitaParmenidean One,orGod,oraphilosophicalreplacementfor
God,Being withcapitalB,orTemporalitt,or Isingness,or...what? However,in
therestofSeinundZeit,onecanlookforward(asisthewontof Dasein)tofinding
outsomethingabouttimeasitisexperiencedbyorasitpresentsitselftohumansas
theylive,astimegoesby,or(itmaybe)asthey aresomesortof time.
5.19. IrecalltheshortallusionsImadeatthebeginningofthisessaytowhat
Westernershavecometo callGreek myths. Ispokeof Chronos,who(orwhich)is
sometimessaidtoeathisownchildren. CanwesaythatforHeidegger,Temporalitt
doeslikewise,afterfirstgivingthemZeitlichkeittolivewithforawhile? Charles
BambachhaswrittenonthistopicinhisHeidegger'sRoots:Nietzsche,National
SocialismandtheGreeks(2003). InhisPreface,Bambachsays,speakingof
Heidegger's"accountofthehistoryofbeing":
Initssimplestform,thestoryproceedsasfollows:attheverybeginningof the
tradition,theearlyGreekphilosophersandpoetssetforththeirpoeticphilosophical
workfromoutofaprimordialrelationtoearthaschthonos. Drawingonthis
rootednesstheseearlyGreeksgavevoicetothepoweroftheearthasthehidden,
chthonicsourceforhumandestiny. ..... HeideggerwillunderstandGermany'sown
desperatesituationofeconomiccollapse,socialupheaval,andpoliticalchaosinlate
Weimar[i.e.,lateyearsoftheWeimarRepublic,precedingtheNazitakeoverof
Germangovernment]intermsofthesamerootlessforcesofenlighteningrationality
thatdestroyedarchaicGreece. Theonlywayoutofthissituation,Heideggerwill
claim,istoreconnecttheGerman Volkwiththearchaic,chthonicsourcesofitown
traditionin language,landscape,andcommunity. Theophanymustbecomea
fundamentalhappeningfortheVolkthetaskathandistopreparethewayforthe
returnofthegodswhohavefled. [WalterF.]Otto'sformulationof"theGerman
Problem",nurturedonthePhilhellenismofHlderlinandNietzsche,willbereframed
byHeideggerintermsofanontologicalnarrativeaboutthehistoryoftheWestandof
Germany'ssingularroleinretrievingthelostchthonicelementsofarchaicGreek
existence.
WalterOttowastheauthorofaworkentitledDieGtterGriechenlands(TheGodsof
Greece1929)inwhich,accordingtoBambach,Ottoargues
thattheenlightenedOlympianreligionofHomericGreececoversoverandoccludes
theelementalsubterraneandimensionofGreekchthonicdeities,usheringina
rationalmetaphysicalepochofOlympianenlightenment. Inthisturnawayfromthe
primordial archeororiginofGreekculture,Olympianreligionwilllosetouchwith
theverysourcesofdivinerevelation whattheGreekscalled"theophany"or"the
manifestationofthegod(s)".
6. DaseinandZeitlichkeit:Everydaytime
6.1. Heideggerspeaksofaprimordialtime(Urzeit)ofDaseinwhichis,Itakeit,the
wayhumansexperiencetheZeitlichkeitasitappearsfromorisdisclosedby
Temporalitt,theTimeofBeing(Sein). Assuch,itisthesourceofeverydaytime(s)
thathumansarepresentedwithandorwhichtheyconstruct,includingnotonly
consciousnessof innertime(s),butalso outertime(s)asmeasuredbyobservable
periodicprocesses. However,primordialtimeisfiniteaspresentedtoDasein,since
humansdie,whereupon TemporalittceasestodiscloseZeitlichkeittotheindividual
thatdies,andapersonwhodiesisnolongerintheworld,nolongerparticipatingin
Daseinheit("beingintheworldness"). Acuriousturnseemstooccurhere. Instead
ofChronoseatingitschildren,wehavechildrenofTemporalittasitwereeating
primordialtime(Urzeit),finiteportionsof Zeitlichkeit,theworldtimefurnishedto
humansby Temporalitt. Ormaybenot.
6.2. Kaelinsaysofsuchmatters:
Thetimeoftheworld,then,isaconceptthatderivesfromtheontologyofthehuman
beingandcannotbeusedasanexplanationofthebeingofahumanexistentoranyof
itsinstitutions.
InthetermsI'vebeenusing,thisseemstosaythatZeitlichkeitderivesfrom
Temporalitt,andtheinnertimes andoutertimesof Zeitlichkeitasexperiencedby
humansintheworldcannotfunctionasreasonsthathumansliveanddieintheworld,
northatperiodicprocessescanbemeasured(numbered).
6.4. Atthispoint,Iabandon BeingandTimeandthemultifariousotherworksof
Heideggeratleastforthetimebeing. IconcludefromwhatIhaveacquiredfrom
myabbreviatedexposuretoHeidegger'sthoughtsthatworryingaboutanultimate
sourceoflifeanddeathcanlureaperson,solongasheorsheshalllive,into
continuallychoosingtorideonamerrygoroundwhiletalkingintothewind. One
waytodiscontinueortoneverstartonsuchacircuitousprogramistodwellina
religionoramysticism.Anotherwaytodiscontinueistoswearoffridingthemerry
goround. Somepeopleevidentlycan'tdothis,butsomecan. Iratherthinkthat
abilitytoquitseriouslycaringabouttheultimatefoundationandmaintenanceofthe
worlddependsonthequalityofone'ssenseofhumor.
7. Appendix1:SomeOrigins
7.1. MartinHeideggerwasborninMesskirch,BadenWrttenberg,Germanyin
1889,andwasraisedasaconservativeCatholic. HisfatherwasaCatholicsexton.
Martindevelopedanearlyinterestinreligion. HebecameaJesuitnovitiatefora
shorttimetwoweeks! Hethenenteredthetheologicalseminaryattheuniversityin
Freiburg,Germany,wherehegotagroundingin scholasticphilosophyandtheology.
HehadevenearlierbecomeacquaintedwithphenomenologybywayofEdmund
Husserl'sLogicalInvestigations,afoundingworkofthisphilosophicalmovement.
HereceivedadoctorateatFreiburgin1913withathesisaboutjudgmentin
psychologism,whichshowsstronginfluenceoftheworkofHusserl. Therelations
betweenHeidegger'sCatholicismandhisphilosophicalviewshavebeenthesubject
ofmuchdebate. Putconcisely,itseemsthatHeideggerwassearchingallhislife,one
wayandanother,forasreasonableagroundingashecouldfindforwhathewishedto
retainfromtheRomanCatholicismofhisyouth, possiblymodifiedbytheLutheran
Protestantismofhiswife,divorcedfromtheismanddoctrinesoffaith.
7.2. IsaythisdespitethefactthatHeideggeraffirmedthroughouthislifethathis
Being wasnottobeidentifiedwith Godinatheologicalorecclesiasticalsense,and
thattheologyandphilosophyweredistinctandincompatibleenterprises. Theology,
hesaid,isontic,beingbasedon faith,whereashisphilosophywasontological,and
concernedwiththedisclosureof Being(Sein)viaBeingintheworld(Dasein). Inhis
book GodWithoutBeing:HorsText(1991translationof Dieusansl'etre:Hors
texte,1982),JeanLucMarionreportsHeidegger'sresponsemadein1951toa
questionaboutwhetherornotonecanidentify BeingandGod:"BeingandGodare
notidenticalandIwouldneverattempttothinktheessenceofGodbymeansof
Being. ... IfIwereyettowriteatheology towhichIsometimesfeelinclined
thentheword Being wouldnotoccurinit. FaithdoesnotneedthethoughtofBeing.
Whenfaithhasrecoursetothisthought,itisnolongerfaith. ThisiswhatLuther
understood." Butwhocan'tdiscernaconcern(Sorge)withakindof Godinhis
treatmentof Being?
7.3. In1924,beforethepublicationof ZeitundSeinin1927,Heideggergavea
lecturetotheMarburgTheologicalSocietyentitled"DerBegriffderZeit"whichhas
beenpublished,bilingually,asTheConceptofTime(1992). Languagesbeingwhat
theyare,andlanguagebeingwhatitis,Ithinkit'shelpfultogivemultipletranslations
fromonelanguagetoanother,donebydifferentpeople. Inthisspirit,Iwillgivetwo
translationsintoEnglishofapassagefromthebeginningofthislecture,andthenthe
originalGerman. First,IgivetheonemadebyWilliamMcNeillinthebook
mentioned:
Whatistime?
Iftimefindsitsmeaningineternity,thenitmustbeunderstoodstartingfrom
eternity. Thepointofdepartureandpathofthisinquiryaretherebyindicatedin
advance: frometernitytotime. Thiswayofposingthequestionisfine,providedthat
wehavetheaforementionedpointofdepartureatourproposal,thatis,thatweare
acquaintedwitheternityandadequatelyunderstandit. Ifeternityweresomething
otherthantheemptystateofperpetualbeing,thee,ifGodwereeternity,thenthe
wayofcontemplatingtimeinitiallysuggestedwouldnecessarilyremainin astateof
perplexitysolongasitknowsnothingofGod,andfailstounderstandtheinquiry
concerninghim. IfouraccesstoGodisfaithandifinvolvingoneselfwitheternityis
nothingotherthanthisfaith,thenphilosophywillneverhaveeternity and,
accordingly,wewillneverbeabletoemployeternitymethodologicallyasapossible
respectinwhichtodiscusstime. ... Thephilosopherdoesnotbelieve. Ifthe
philosopherasksabouttime,thenhehasresolvedtounderstandtimeintermsoftime
orintermsofthee,whichlookslikeeternitybutprovestobeamerederivativeof
beingtemporal.
Hereismyowntranslation. BesidesbeingstylisticallydifferentfromMcNeill's,itis
alsoalittlemoreliteral:
Whatistime?
Iftimefindsitsmeaningineternity,thenitmustbeunderstoodfromthere. The
startingpointandpathofthissearcharethuspredetermined: frometernitytotime.
Thisposingofthequestionisinorderundertheassumptionthatwecanaccessthe
aforementionedstartingpointsoweknowandsufficientlyunderstandeternity.
Shouldeternitybesomethingotherthanempty"alwaysbeing",thee[ancientGreek
for"always"or"forever",madeintoanoun,"thealways"],shouldGodbeeternity,
thenthekindofconsiderationoftimefirstsuggestedmustremainapuzzleaslongas
oneknowsnothingofGod,doesn'tunderstandtheinquiryabouthim. Ifouraccessto
Godisfaith,andinvolvingoneselfwitheternityisnothingelsethanthisfaith,then
philosophywillnevergetto[haben]eternityandthereforewewillneverbeableto
takethisasapossiblewaytodiscusstimeformethodicaluse. ... Thephilosopher
doesnotbelieve. Ifthephilosopherasksabouttime,thenhehasdecided to
understandtimefromtimeorfromthee,whichlookslikeeternitybutshowsitself
asamerederivativeofthebeingoftime.
Andhereistheoriginal:
WasistdieZeit?
WenndieZeitihrenSinnfindetinderEwigkeit,dannmusssievondaherverstanden
werden. DamitsindAusgangandWegdieserNachforschungvorgezeichnet: vonder
EwigkeitzurZeit. DieseFragestellungistinOrdnungunterderVoraussetzung,dass
wirberdenvorgenanntenAusgangverfgen,alsodieEwigkeitkennenund
hinreichendverstehen. SolltedieEwigkeitetwasanderesseinalsdasleere
Immersein,dase,sollteGottdieEwigkeitsein,dannmsstediezuerstnachgelegte
ArtderZeitbetrachtungsolangeineinerVerlegenheitbleiben,alssienichtvonGott
weiss,nichtverstehtdieNachfragenachihm. WenndieZugangzuGottderGlaube
istunddasSicheinlassenmitderEwigkeitniehabenunddiesesonachnieals
mglicheHinsichtfrdieDiskussionderZeitinmethodischenGebrauchgenommen
werdenknnen. ... DerPhilosophglaubtnicht. FragtderPhilosophnachderZeit,
dannisterentschlossen,dieZeitausderZeitzuverstehenbzw.ausdeme,wasso
aussiehtwieEwigkeit,wassichaberherausstelltalseinblossesDerivatdes
Zeitlichseins.
7.4. Thereareotherwaystotranslatebesidesamoreorlessfaithfultransferfromone
languagetoanother(orfromalanguagetoitself)sentencebysentenceandphraseby
phrase. Forexample,onecantrytocondense. Hereisacondensationofthese
passages:
Ifphilosophersstartbytrying tofindthemeaningoftimefromthemeaningof
eternity,theywon'tgetveryfar. Philosopherscan'tstartbyidentifyingeternitywith
God,butmusttrytofindoutabouttimestartingfromtimeitself.
Thisseemstometobeafairlygooddescription ofwhatHeideggerwastryingtodo
atsomelength(oftime)inhisSeinundZeit.
7.5. HereisanothercondensationbyJohnSallis,fromEchoes:AfterHeidegger
(1990)(oracondensationofacommentary,asquotedbyFrankSchalowin
HeideggerandtheQuestfortheSacred(2001):
"TheConceptofTime"beginsinamannerappropriatetothetheologicalaudienceby
referringtimetoeternity or,rather,byintroducingsuchareferralonlytodisavow
it. ... Thedifficultyisthatphilosophy,unliketheology,canmakenoclaimto
understandeternity. Thisdifficultycannotberemovedforthephilosopher. ...
Rather,hewouldunderstandtimeoutoftimeinpreciselysuchawayastoforego
referringtimetoanythingelse,wouldunderstanditfromoutofitself.
7.6. Schalow'sbookisastudyofpositiveinfluencesofHeidegger'sthoughton
theologicalmatters. Inhisconcludingchapter,Schalowsays:
Wehavereachedthecrucialpointinourinquirywhereitisnecessarytoask"Why
Heidegger?": whathasbeengainedbyseekinginhisthoughtanewavenueto
approachtheologicalquestions? Asindicatedatthecloseofthelastchapter,
Heideggerplantstheseedsforapostmoderntheologywhichcanrestoreasenseofthe
divinemystery,orreaffirmthereligiousexperienceofthe"whollyother." Bytaking
Heidegger'slead,wecandeterminethatthereismorethanasuperficialresemblance
betweenthethoughtofbeingandthemysteryofGod. Indeed,histhoughtenablesus
toaddresswhatisdistinctiveofthedivinitiesasmuchthroughthemodalityoftheir
absenceasthroughtheirpresence.
Frommypointofview,thisisnotasurprisingconclusion,sinceHeidegger'scentral
enterpriseseemswithoutdoubttohavebeenthedepictionofaCatholicGod
independentofCatholicfaith,doctrineandhistory,andindependentofCatholiclogic
andreasoning,asengagedinbytheologiansoldandmodern. Anotionof Truth,
distinctfromtruthsoflogicalreasoningwastobeaccepted. Schalowsays
Heidegger'sattempttodisplacethelocusoftruthfromtheproposition,however,is
completedonlywhenhecultivates ...[a] radical approachtolanguage. Thepower
whichwenormallyattributetospeechmusttakeitscuefromtheaccompanying
processofselfshowing[aletheia,revelation].
Schalow'sintentionistoreclaimHeideggerfortheology. Thequestionoftheextent
towhichSchalowhassucceededinthis,Imustleaveaside.
7.7. TheappearanceofsuchadetheologizedGodandsuchaderationalizedTruth,
whatIhavecalledHeidegger'sIsingness,wastooccurbywayof aletheia,
"revelation","unforgetting","clearing". Butthen,inviewofthedifficultyhumans
haveinreceiving aletheia,itnecessarilywouldalsobeaccompaniedby"mystery",
"feelingtheholy",unless,somehow,itwereatotaluniomystica. Statedsobaldly,
theapproachseemsGnostic,evenKabbalistic,andmakesonethinkofBuddhist
nirvana. OneremembersthatHansJonas,aprominentexponentofGnosticism,was
astudentofHeidegger'sinthe1930s. Ontheotherhand,Heidegger'sapproachisof
akindassociatedwiththephenomenologyofEdmundHusserl,initsexpectationthat
suchrevelation couldbeunencumberedbyanythinginvolvedinliving intheworld,
otherthanone'sconsciousness. Suchrevelationwouldbepurelysubjective,though
availabletoanyone,andwouldbethesame(theOne)foreveryone.Manyyearsago,
whenreadingPlato'sPhaedo,Iwassurprisedbythethoughtthattheimmortality
Platowasgettingatsoundedalotlikedeath,was,asitwere,annihilationof Dasein.
Afterdeath,wewillbeimmortalinthesensethatwewillchangenomore,andbe
foreverwhateveritwaswehadbecome. IwonderifHeidegger'sintenseconcern
aboutdeathwasconnectedwith suchthoughts. Whatif Isingnessturnsouttobenot
Godpurifiedforphilosophers,butsomethingthatperishesalongwith Nothing
ness,withcessationof Dasein,whichturnsouttobeordinarydeath? Whatif
Nietzsche'sdeathofGodoccurswitheach deathofanindividualwhohasbeen
visitedbyGod,anddeathofSeinoccurswitheachphilosopherwhohasbeen
occupiedwith(orby)Sein?
8. Appendix2:HeideggerandtheNazis
8.1. AfterWorldWar2andtheexposuresoftheNazipoliciesofextermination
againstJewsandothers,HannahArendt(Jewish)andKarlJaspers(Jewishwife),two
ofhisclosestfriends(attimes)andbothdevotedtohisphilosophicalviews(attimes),
struggledwiththequestionofHeidegger'sNazism. Bothofthemoftenremarkedon
thepassionwithwhichHeideggerpursuedphilosophicalinvestigations,andtheway
Heideggermadethewritingsofclassicphilosophersseemaliveandrelevant. Arendt
andJaspersweremorethanclosefriendsofHeideggerbeforeWorldWar2,they
weretosomedegreedisciplesintheearlyyearsoftheircontact. Amongotherthings,
ArendtandHeideggerwerelovers. Theiraffairbeganwhenshewasayoungstudent
ofhis,18yearsold,andhewasamarriedmanof35,withtwochildren. They
intermittentlycommunicatedformanyyears,andshedefendedhiminvariousways
untilherdeathin1975. Thereseemstohavebeensomethingpassionately
mesmerizingaboutHeideggerr. ShortlyafterWorldWar2,whenHeideggerwas
subjectedtoadenazificationprocess,JasperswrotetothecommitteethatHeidegger's
waysofthinking,speakingandacting"hadacertainaffinity"withNazi
characteristics,andHeideggerwasbannedfromteachinguntil1950. Thisisnotto
saythatHeidegger'sphilosophydidordidnotpossesscharacteristicsofNazipolitics,
northatHeidegger'smindandcharacterasrevealedinhisbook SeinundZeit
significantlyresemblesHitler'smindandcharacterasrevealedinHitler'sbookMein
Kampf. ButitdoesrecallthepassionstirredinmanyGermansbytheNazimovement
inthe1930s,andespeciallythemesmerizingeffectHitlerhadonmanypeople.
8.2. Ithasbeenwellverifiedthatinthe1930sHeideggerbecameenamoredofand
activetosomedegreeintheNazimovementinhishomeland. Therehavebeenmany
attemptstoassociateordisassociatehisphilosophicalandpoliticalviews. One
typicalhypothesisisthatin1933HeideggersawintheNazimovementan
opportunityforatransformationofthepeopleofGermanywhichwouldoccurif his
viewsonwhathecalledauthentic(eigentlich)beingorbeingintheworldweretobe
promulgatedbyanauthoritariangovernment. Heideggerhimselfsaidsomethinglike
thisin1948,inaletterinanswertoaletterfromHerbertMarcuse("Marcuseand
Heidegger:AnExchangeofLetters",NewGermanCritique,1991). Heideggerspoke
ofarenewalofwestern Dasein,andprotectionofthatDasein"fromthedangersof
communism". Hewentontosaythatherecognizedhiserrorsometimein1934,but
didnotmakeanypublicdeclarationsaboutthisbecause"itwouldhavebeentheend
ofbothmeandmyfamily". Hesayshedidn'tmakeanyclaimsabouthisrenunciation
after1945becausethatwouldhaveputhiminaclasswithNaziswholiedtoabout
theirallegiancetothemovement"inamostloathsomeway",andhe"hadnothingin
commonwiththem. MarcusehadespeciallyaskedaboutHeidegger'sreactionstothe
killingofJewsinconcentrationcampsanddeathfactories,andelsewhere,i.e.about
theHolocaust. HereHeideggermadeanincriminatingreply,bytryingtoexcusethe
killingbycomparingittowhat"oneoftheallies"(presumablyRussia)didineastern
Germany. Marcusewouldbuynothingofthis,andinasubsequentlettercondemned
HeideggerfortryingtoexplainorrelativizeorcomprehendtheHolocaustbysaying
thatothersdidthesamething,especiallywhenwhathappenedineasternGermany
wasnowherenearbeingcomparabletowhathappenedwiththekillingofJews.
Marcusealsowrote: "You,thephilosopher,haveconfusedtheliquidationof
occidental Daseinwithitsrenewal? Wasthisliquidationnotalreadyevidentinevery
wordofthe"leaders",ineverygestureanddeedoftheSA[Sturmabteilung,Storm
Troopers],longbefore1933?"
8.3. ItappearsthatHeideggerhoped,atleastinitially,thatNationalSocialismwould
leadtoanewkindofnationalreligion,basedonhiskindofphilosophy,perhaps
ratherthanonChristiandogmaandtheology. Heideggerbristledatbeingcalledan
atheist,soitisperhapsunfairtoclaimthatamessageofhisworkistheadventof
atheism,orevenagnosticism. AstohisrelationstoNazism,in TheRecklessMind
(2001),MarkLillawritesthatHeidegger"wasneverabletoconfronttheissueof
philosophy'srelationtopolitics,ofphilosophicalpassiontopoliticalpassion. For
him,thiswasnottheissuehesimplyhadbeenfooledintothinkingthattheNazis'
resolvetofoundanewnationwascompatiblewithhisprivateandloftierresolutionto
refoundtheentiretraditionofWesternthought,andtherebyWesternexistence." I
wondertowhatextentthisnewfoundationwastobeakindofdetheologized
Catholicism,basedonhisanguishedattemptstocometogripswithhislossofarural
andpeacefulworld,andhavinggrownupintheheartofadevoutreligiousfamily.
8.4. WehaveHeidegger'sstatementthatwhilehewasattractedtotheNazi
movementin(orbefore?)1933,hechangedhismindsometimein1934,andcameto
thinkthattheNazimovementasoriginallyenvisioned fellafoulofdevotiontowhat
NietzschechristenedtheWilltoPower(onlystartingin1934?hardtobelieve).
Heideggergivesevidenceinvariousplacesthathebelieved,tostartwith,thatthe
programoftheNazis,asheunderstoodit,wouldovercomewhathetooktobeevils
ofmodernism,programsandidealswhicharoseduringtheEnlightenment,suchas
toomuchdevotiontosciences,toomuchpromotionoftechnology,andestablishment
ofmorerepublicanordemocraticgovernments. IthasbeensuggestedthatHeidegger
mayhavehopedtoplaysuccessfullyarolelikethatPlatounsuccessfullyplayedinhis
tripstoSyracuse,tryingtoleadtheyoungruler(tyrant)DionysiusIItoadopt
principlesofphilosophicalruleofthesortPlatoproposedinhiswritings. But
Heidegger,likePlatoatSyracuse,seemstohavefound(hesaysby1934)that
authenticBeing,ashesawit,andpoliticalaction,asheexperienceditinGermany,
wereantagonists. Heideggerwasanacademicphilosopher,AdolfHitlerandmostof
hisaccompliceswerenot.
8.5. CharlesBambach,inhisbook Heidegger'sRoots:Nietzsche,NationalSocialism,
andtheGreeks(2003)makesastrongcasefortakingintoaccount,ininterpretingthe
worksofHeidegger,thepoliticalcontextsinwhichtheywerewritten. Toevaluate
thenatureofHeidegger'scommitmenttoNazism,Bambachconcentratesonhis
workswrittenduringtheperiodofNaziascendancy,19331945. Iquoteherea
passagefromtheIntroductiontoBambach'sbook:
Heidegger'spastorallanguageoffieldpaths,nativesoil,pathmarks,fertilegound,and
folkishrootednesswhatIwillsummarilyterm"Heidegger'sroots" betraysa
fundamentalunitywiththelanguageandaxiomaticsofhis"other"paramilitary
discourseaboutheroism,sacrifice,courage,will,struggle,hardness,violence,and
selfassertiointhatmarkshispoliticalworksofthe'30sandbeyond. Farfrombeinga
pastoralroundelayabouttherurallandscape,Heidegger'ssongoftheearthinpraise
ofrootednessandautochthony(Bodenstndigkeit)ispartofamartialpolitical
ideologyofthechthonicthatwasdeployedinthe1930sinthenameofGerman
metaphysicalracialautochthony. InHeidegger'sworkthisautochthonicmetaphysics
ofexclusionaimstosupplantthecrudebiologicalracismofNaziideologues,suchas
AlfredRosenbergandR.WaltherDarr,bydefiningtheessenceofaVolkintermsof
rootsandbelonging. Hence,HeideggerwillconsistentlyopposetheNazidiscourse
ofbiologicalracismonphilosophicalgrounds,sinceNaziscientificethnological
categoriesofbloodandgeneticinheritancearewhollyatoddswiththeexistential
categoriesofBeingandTime andtheearlyFreiburglectures.. Moresimply,
HeideggersawthattheNazimetaphysicsofblooddeniedtheessentialhistoricityofa
Volkbymaintainingapositivistmetaphysicsofscientismandanthropologisminits
place, Heidegger'scritiqueiscounterracial,yetracialnonetheless,becauseitisstill
aversionofGermanrootednessasaformofpoliticalmetaphysics,which,ofcourse,
wasnotoriginalwithHeidegger. Aswewillseemitdevelopedbothinandagainst
theKriegsideologieoftheGreatWarthatshapedrightwingthinkingduringtheyears
oftheWeimarRepublic.
Thesituationbeingwhatitwasandis,Heidegger'suseofthetermBodenstndigkeit
for"rootedness"bringstomindtheNazislogan BlutundBoden,"BloodandSoil"or
"RaceandLand",whichtheredandblackcolorsoftheNaziswastikaflagweresaid
tosymbolize. ThisinturnevokesastringofGermankeywordsoftheNazizeitund
Nazisein:Volk,Heimat,mypeople,myhomelandVaterlandundMuttersprache,
fatherlandandmothertongueHeimwehundSeinweh,longingforhome,longingfor
BeingLebensraumundArbeitMachtFrei,livingspaceand"Workmakesonefree"
(oldpeasantsaying,adoptedasamottooveranentrancetoconcentrationcampand
killingchambersatAuschwitz). Actually,Ihaven'tseen Nazisein norSeinweh
before,butthesetermsseemtobeinthespiritofHeidegger'suseoftheGerman
language. SomemightarguethatNaziseinshouldbeNazidasein,whichmay
dissassociatetrueBeing(asTemporalized)fromeverydayurbanandscientificbeing
intheworld(asin Nazizeit,whichIhaveseenhereandthere).
8.6. BambachlistsanumberofpointsofagreementofHeideggerwithNazi
thinkers. Speakingoftheeconomiccollapseandpoliticalandsocialupheavalsin
GermanyafterWorldWarI,BambachsaysthatHeideggerandNationalistSocialist
thinkershad:
AsharedsensethattheimmediaterootsofthiscrisisgobacktotheGreatWara
warwagedbytheGermansagainstthe"ideasof1789"(beliefintherightsofman,
democraticequality,thelibertyoftheindividual,socialcontracttheory,aliberal
Enlightenmentfaithinreason,andtheidealofamoderncentralizednationstate)and
insupportofthe"ideasof1914"(themilitaristicaffirmationofGermany'scultural
missiontosavetheWest,thecommitmenttoaviewoftheGerman Volkasa
Gemeinschaftforgedbythefrontsoldiersinthetrenchestheradicalaffirmationof
theVolkovertheindividualthesensethatGermany'sspiritualrebirthdependson
wagingafatefulbattle[Kampf]againsttheAngloFrenchmodelofnationalismand
thewholeWesternEnlightenmentdefinitionoffreedom,equality,individuality).
8.7. IwillnotdiscussanyfurtherheretherelationshipbetweenHeideggerasa
personandHeidegger'sphilosophicalwork,ontheonehand,andtheNational
SocialistGerman WorkersPartyandeventsinGermanyoftheHitleryears,onthe
otherhand. IwillleavethissubjectwithaquotationfromPathtoCollectiveMadness
(2001)byDipakK.Gupta,aprofessorofpoliticalsciencewhohaspublished
extensivelyonsuchtopicsaspublicpolicy,economicbehaviorandpoliticalviolence,
asmayseenbyvisitinghiswebsite.AsfarasIcantell,Guptahasnoprofessional
interestinHeideggerorHeidegger'skindofphilosophy. IamstruckbywhatItaketo
beanunintendedresemblanceofpartsofhisdescriptionoftheNaziregimetosome
ofthefundamentalsofHeidegger'sthought. Theinsertionsinbracketsaremine.
TheNationalSocialistideologywasbasedonthenotionoftheVolksgemeinschaft
thefolk [Germannational]community whichwasgoingtoreplacethevile,
atomizingindustrialsocietyofGesellschaft[business,corporations]. The
Volksgemeinschaftwasatotalcommunitythatregulatedeveryaspectoflifeofan
individualwithinit. Anegalitariansociety basedinequalrightsforitsAryan
memberswastoreplacetheprevailingsocietybasedoneconomicclassandbirth.
AnyoneborninthisVolkisboundbytheidentityofacommonrace. Inthisnew
societyallmenandwomenwouldknowtheirplaceandfindmeaningintheirlives
throughtotaldedicationgoghecommunalspirit. Inreturn,thenewAryannation
wouldprovideaharmonybetweenthemselvesandothers(theAryansweregoingto
ruleoverthenonAryans)andbetweentheAryancommunityandnature. Thisunity
wouldbebasedonamysticalnexusamong Blut(blood),Volk(people),andBoden
(the"German"soil)andonthesimplervaluesofAryanagrariansociety. Thesefour
essentialnotionsprovidedsymbolicexpressionsoftheNaziParty: theredcolorof
blood,theblackofthesoil,andtheimagesofshovelandgrain. And,ofcourse,from
theAryanpastcamethesymboloftheswastika.
8.8. InviewofHeidegger'sabsorptionwithlanguageandetymology,especially
GermanandclassicalGreek,itmay notbeirrelevanttomentionherethattheterm
IndoAryanwasonceasynonymamonglinguistsforIndoEuropean. Theword
AryanisofPersianorigin,andistheetymologicalancestorofthewordIran. These
termsrefertoafamilyoflanguageswhoseoriginsandevolutionhavebeenmuch
studied,especiallybyGermanphilologists,startingintheearly19thcentury. The
familyconsistsofearlyGreekandLatin,mostmodernEuropeanlanguagesandtheir
ancestors,includingtheGermanic(Teutonic),Italic(Romance),SlavicandCeltic,as
wellasFarsi(fromParsi,Persian),Sanskrit,HindiandBengali. Therehavebeenand
stillarenumerousconflictingtheoriesoftheultimateoriginsofthisgroupof
languages.
8.9. IamledbymyprovisionalestimationofHeideggertopicturehimasaperson
whostrovemightilytointerprettheworldintermsofvaluesheacquiredinhis
childhoodintheprovincialGermantownofMesskirch,asthesonofasextonofa
Catholicchurch. Heregardedthepeasantsofthisregionas"thesaltoftheearth",as
theoldphrasegoes. Whenhewasthrustoutintoalargerworldasasoldierduring
WorldWarI,andasauniversitystudent,hebroughtwithhimakeendesireto
construct,inhisteachingandwriting,aworldmodeledafterMesskirchandits
surroundings,aworldinwhichtherewouldbeanattachmentandsubmissiontosome
higherBeing,conceivedphilosophicallyandwithouttraditionalreligiousbeliefs,a
worldinwhichonecoulddwellunencumberedbymereeverydaymatters. Heseems
tohavehadanunusuallyphilosophicalcaseof Heimweh,homesickness. Hewas
accordingtoallaccountsaspellbindinglecturerandacopiouswriterwhowas
notablyattachedtopoeticexpressionandantagonistictothedrytalkofscientistic
people. Hewasalsonotablyantagonistictowhathetooktobeseverethreatsto
idealizedkindsofruralandsmalltownlifesetdowninhimwhenhewasachild,
threatsarisingfromtechnologicaldevelopments,andfromdeparturesfromsecure
authoritarianrule. Hewas,atleastduringtheNaziyears,notaversetotheideaofa
struggle,aKampf,tobringaboutsuchaworld,whateverthecostmightbetothose
whoenthusiasticallylookedforwardtotechnologicaldevelopments,andto
democraticinstitutions,inthespiritof1789andtheEuropeanEnlightenment.
8.10. InwhatIhavereadofHeidegger'sworks,andthoseofhisfollowersandcritics,
supportersanddetractors,Ihavebeenstruckbyalackofreferencetopopulation
increasewithreferencetothehopesforatransformationorreturnintoaworldlike
thataroundMesskirchduringHeidegger'schildhood,asHeideggerexperiencedand
interpretedit. Thefundamentalurgetopropagatewasnottakenintoserious
considerationasacausenotonlyofoverpopulation,butofalargeproportionofthe
technologicaldevelopmentsduringthe19thcentury. Thesamecanbesaidabout
developmentsofdemocraticinstitutions. Suchdevelopmentswereinstrumentalin
enablinglargerpopulationstobefed,clothed,housedandotherwisesupportedand
entertained,andalsoinenablinggroupsofpeopletheGermans,forexampleto
trytospreadoutbymilitarymeans,whileatthesametimefindingsomethingfor
peopletodo,andincidentallytemporarilyreducingthesizeofpopulations.Butthisis
anotherstory.