Lecture Notes on Martin Heidegger

Introduction to Heidegger

• Influential 20th century philosopher.
• Notable for obscure writing style and verbal maneuvers.
• Source of many movements in 20th century intellectual life, particularly existentialism.

Background of Heidegger

• Started his career as a Jesuit seminarian, influencing his intellectual habits.
• Wrote dissertation on Duns Scotus, indicating ambitious thinking.

Major Works

Being and Time (1927)

• First significant work, focusing on existential concerns and ontology.
• Dedicated to Edmund Husserl, indicating influential mentor-mentee relationship.

Ontology vs. Existentialism

• Heidegger claims not to be an existentialist but historically influences Sartre, Camus, and others.
• Focus on ontology: the science of being (capital B).
• Seeks to revive foundational philosophical enterprises from Greek tradition.

Concept of Being

Searching for Being

• Advocates introspective methods to understand being, moving beyond tangible inquiries.
• Criticizes modern philosophy for neglecting the 'problem of being'.

Challenges in Understanding Being

• Being as a concept is distinct from the entities (small b beings) we encounter.
• Plato’s analogy of the light of being compared to the visibility of objects, demonstrating the abstract nature of being.

Dasein: Being as Human Existence

• Dasein: human existence characterized by finitude and contingency.
• Three elements of Dasein:
  • Understanding: Contextualizing experiences and attaching meanings.
  • Mood: Acknowledging emotional states as vital to being.
  • Discourse: Language shapes our understanding and experiences.

Authenticity and Inauthenticity

• Calls for an authentic engagement with being.
• Critiques distraction by smaller beings and encourages introspection.

Heidegger’s Conceptual Approach

• Advocates for authenticity by confronting the harsh truths of life and one’s mortality.
• Guilt and care emerge as central themes in human existence, highlighting an obligation toward authenticity.

Ethics and Authentic Existence

• Ethics centralized on the idea of becoming aware of one’s own death and finitude.
• Contrasts between authentic choice and mass-man mentality (Dasman).

The Role of Conscience

• Conscience as a guide towards authentic existence, emphasizing moral obligations to oneself.
• Heidegger’s work intertwined with theological themes, particularly the implications of choice and existence.

Critiques of Heidegger

• Tension between philosophy and mysticism: some may see his approach as leading to nihilism.
• Challenges with interpretability of concepts like ‘nothing’; complex language and word play.
• Allegations regarding Heidegger's political involvement and affiliations during the Nazi period.

Conclusions

• Heidegger’s philosophy viewed as a transformation of theological questions into existential inquiries devoid of the divine.
• Legacy influences fields such as theology, particularly in figures like Paul Tillich and Rudolph Bultmann.