Metaphysics: Notes on Heidegger

by Zoltanous

Moods do not arise from thinking or willing, nor do they determine our reactions or condition our responses. The mood of boredom reveals the entirety of being as a state of complete indifference, encompassing all aspects of existence, including itself. The situatedness of mood not only discloses being in its own unique manner but, far from being incidental, constitutes the fundamental event of our existence. Moods that reveal being do not conceal anything. The negation of being as a whole in a mood does not imply the revelation of nothingness. Such a revelation can only occur in a mood that discloses absolute nothingness. This event is rare and fleeting, primarily experienced in the fundamental mood of dread. However, dread should not be confused with the typical anxiety that arises from fear. Fear is directed towards specific beings that pose a threat to us. It always involves being afraid of something particular. In contrast, the indeterminacy in dread does not result from a failure of determinacy but rather reflects its essential impossibility. In dread, we encounter an uncanny "something." However, we cannot specify what this something is or how it manifests. The "as a whole" dimension is also affected by this uncanniness, as all things, including ourselves, become immersed in indifference. This immersion is not a mere disappearance but a turning towards us as it recedes. The receding of being as a whole, which envelops us in dread, exerts pressure on us. There is nothing substantial to grasp onto. Dread reveals nothingness.

In the trembling suspension where nothing can be held onto, only our authentic existence remains. The fact that, in the uncanniness of dread, we often attempt to break the silence with meaningless chatter only underscores the presence of nothingness. Reflecting on what we experienced during moments of dread, we are compelled to acknowledge that what we feared was ultimately "really" nothing at all. In fact, pure nothingness itself was present. Heidegger suggests that we tend to avoid acknowledging the significance of our emotional encounters with nothingness due to several reasons. These encounters serve as premonitions of the ultimate nothingness of death and echo the fundamental groundlessness of human existence.

In a reciprocal dynamic, a couple engages in a process of mutual influence, with each individual actively shaping the other towards a desired outcome. Formal relationships, such as marriage, aim to unite the final goals of both partners. This process of mutually engaging with one another, working towards the intended final cause, constitutes a relationship. It parallels artistic creation, but with both individuals involved in the same process. It is a shared unveiling of both individuals, the intended final cause of the relationship. It does not imply the domination of one person's will over the other, but rather reflects the essence of each person involved.

The investigation of phenomena within any framework of inquiry inherently carries the final purpose of acquiring knowledge. Scientific inquiry, for instance, seeks intersubjectively verifiable and objective knowledge. Its rigorous and systematic approach molds the experience to fit its own framework, shaping the phenomena itself. Epistemic knowledge is a practical endeavor, as individuals are constantly engaged in applying their knowledge in their lives. Even in purely conceptual realms, knowledge finds expression through one's perspective or way of being. Western logical laws have not only influenced philosophical thinking but have also shaped the very fabric of human experience and action. Epistemic knowledge is historical yet atemporal, grounding discourse and enabling its existence.

A culture defines itself through a particular focal point, which subconsciously constitutes a shared final cause intended by its members. Similar to personal relationships, each member mediates the desires and intentions of others. What binds them together is a shared ultimate goal for one another. The broad desires of a culture translate into individuals' final aims for themselves and others. The process of shaping others' ends, whether in a cultural or personal context, involves an act of unveiling, fulfilling, and revealing the desired final cause. This act of revelation is truth itself, as it brings to light what was previously unknown but implicit. It is important to note that this does not imply the inherent goodness or badness of the final cause itself, but rather emphasizes the goodness of the process.

Discovering someone's personal attributes occurs through the lens of relationships; realizing our intended final cause for them and learning about their qualities go hand in hand. However, different types of relationships manifest these aspects in varying ways. For example, the actions elicited from a wife will differ significantly depending on whether she is in an abusive or respectful relationship. The wife's personal attributes will be expressed differently, aligned with the specific desired end set by her partner. These relationships inform our understanding of individuals, but they do not directly reveal essential characteristics. Instead, essentiality is unveiled through the manner of the relationship itself, allowing for the abstraction of generalities from the diverse ways in which humans relate to one another. These modes of relating directly correspond to different ways of being for individuals.

The causes at play in relational morphology can be categorized into three aspects: formal, material, and, most significantly, final causes. The individual (referred to as Heidegger's Dasein) goes beyond being a mere efficient cause. While a strong gust of wind may act as an efficient cause for a fallen tree, there is no evident final cause or intentionality behind the wind's action. Human beings, as Heidegger describes, engage in a process of bringing forth or poiesis. Dasein is not merely an executor but an agent that gathers causes and brings forth things.

“To be a person is to a member engaged in the coherence of Being-in-the-world. Dasein is revealed by projection into, and engagement with, a personal world—a never-ending process of involvement with the world as mediated through the projects of the self.”

— Martin Heidegger, Being and Time

According to Heidegger, the state of being-with is the inherent condition of Dasein, where one exists in a social setting and interacts with others. While not an obligatory state, it serves as a fundamental context. In contrast, the essential condition of Dasein lies in its social setting and relational nature. Heidegger's concept of "personal projects" encompasses Dasein's engagement with the world, which stems from interpersonal relationships and the act of "doing." Consciousness is not abstracted or detached but always influenced by sociality, as humans are inherently social beings. Therefore, conscious engagement, including technic involvement, is guided by its ultimate purpose, which is primarily or entirely linked to desires mediated through social imitation, such as Rene Girard's triangular desire.

Dasein's essence is being immersed in the coherence of Being-in-the-world. It is revealed through projection into a personal world and continuous involvement with oneself's projects, a process that never ceases. Additionally, other Daseins constantly project onto and shape Dasein, just as Dasein projects outwardly. Therefore, Dasein is not only the "project" of its own projects but also of other Daseins. To comprehend the existence of Dasein, one must understand the nature of relationships.

An objection to this definition of personhood arises from the phenomenon of solitude, particularly in hypothetical scenarios like being stranded on an island. This objection highlights the distinction between Dasein and simple efficient causes. Objects or subjects acting upon each other do not project in the same manner as Dasein. For instance, observing a plant's formal cause does not hold the same significance. Moreover, ascribing a final cause to natural phenomena seems counterintuitive since rocks lack rational faculties to conceptualize goals. However, the existence of a final cause does not depend on conscious recognition. Considering the broadest sense of a final cause as the inherent outcome of a technical process, the entire natural world projects in a similar manner to Dasein. Just as the actions of other Daseins can be understood through distinct causes, so can the operations of the natural world.

Nevertheless, the specific manner of projection in the natural world does not reveal a manifest Dasein. Reflecting on how Dasein's existence is entangled in the coherence of Being-in-the-world, all of Dasein's actions are technical and creative, projecting onto the world. These operations, which constitute Dasein's existence, are separate from Dasein itself. Dasein is not merely the sum of its operations. The concept of "no-thing" refers to the absence of things rather than a void or negation of things. When the lights are turned off and a room becomes pitch black, one is aware of the presence of things in the room, but their presence is not experienced. Their absence is not a complete negation, but rather a fading away of those things. This absence creates a mood of angst, which produces a sense of nothingness. In this state of angst, nothing holds particular significance, and everything in the world becomes equally indifferent to a person consumed by this dread. The world is still present, but its enigmatic and unfamiliar nature impresses itself upon the person. The familiar ways of understanding and relating to the world are suspended, and what usually appears natural and self-evident no longer holds true. The only thing that remains is the sheer existence of everything, the perplexing fact of the world's indifferent presence. This existence becomes the ultimate mystery for the person in a state of angst, leading to the contemplation of why anything exists at all instead of nothing. Heidegger believes that this state of nothingness is the source of authenticity and personal freedom, as it allows bare Dasein to identify itself in a new way. Another way to encounter nothingness is through confronting death, not merely as an intellectual concept, but as a total experience.

According to Heidegger, the fundamental mode of being is Dasein, and the origin of other things is inherently intertwined with the nothingness we experience. The mysterious origin of things lies in this absence. The key distinction from solipsism is that the origin of things is rooted in interpersonal relationships rather than fragmentation of the self. The properties attributed to things are intricately connected to the explanation of those things. Dasein's recognition of the particularity of things, its subjective interpretation, is intertwined with the context of Dasein as a whole. The interpretation of a thing depends on its context, and every definition of a thing is truthful within that context. But where does the context of interpretation originate? It originates from interpersonal relationships, as our desires and thoughts are mediated through others in relationships. Regardless of the approach one takes toward a thing or another Dasein, the same process occurs. The technical process of understanding the material and formal constitution of one's desires is universal for all things and Dasein.

For Dasein to interpret anything, a relation must provide a map for interpretation. When Dasein encounters nothingness, it realizes its finitude and ultimately its origin from nothingness. Nothingness becomes the ultimate possibility from which anything or anyone can be derived. The mood of nothingness and its reality are prerequisites for the will. The assumption of the universe's eternality, whether as an all-encompassing transcendent unitive principle or the eternal interplay of dualistic opposition, implies a fundamental self-subsistent nature. However, when faced with nothingness and steeped in dread, Dasein cannot deny the fundamental nature of nothingness. Being-towards-death is not simply contemplating death but engaging in life with the perspectival foresight of one's own inevitable demise. By itself, nothingness cannot actualize any of its infinite possibilities. Closing possibilities is the role of a person, Dasein. Continuously faced with possibilities, Dasein chooses and actualizes at least one while closing off others. Dasein understands itself through its own being, or rather, Dasein exists in a manner where its being is always disclosed to it. This manner of being, its way of relating and caring, is different from a cognitive understanding of other beings within the world. Dasein's mode of being, caring, or engagement is inherently technical, as described earlier. This way of being outside oneself, known as ekstasis, involves existing in an outwardly relational context. Additionally, one becomes a project of engagement for all those in a relationship with them. However, Dasein is not merely the product of normative interpersonal relationships. Relational unions involve intentional imitation, the interweaving of technical projection onto partners. Projections onto Dasein from other Dasein shape it but do not constitute its essence. The question arises: from which existence does all projection originate? Or, more precisely, to whom is Dasein a project of? Can this person be identified as Dasein?

This person is identified as the poetic origin of Dasein, the one who projects its being. Just as Dasein reveals worlds in which things are unfolding, Dasein itself is revealed as existence rather than what it is not. Being-over refers to the existence that Dasein is always in relation to and constantly revealing. It is unclear whether this person exists beyond the death of Dasein, but we can examine Dasein's relationships to find the answer. From the beginning, Dasein projects into and reveals a world in which things exist and, importantly, there is being-there other than Dasein. The world that Dasein discloses also simultaneously discloses Dasein. This relationship reveals that the personal source of Dasein is not inherent to Dasein itself but rather immanent within it. While Dasein will eventually die, things will continue to exist beyond its death. However, the personal creative power of Dasein, which transcends the act of disclosure, is ever-present.

This transcendental person distinguishes itself from other linguistic transcendental signifiers by recognizing its existence within a context, within relationships. Signifiers are not justified in their relation to this person; rather, how Dasein discloses the world in its entirety serves as the source of meaning. The interpretation of meaning is both relative and "objective" at the same time. Disclosure opens up meaning that is specific to a thing, but it is never the complete interpretation. Dasein's understanding of being-over is not achieved through investigation, as it is not through investigation that people truly understand each other.