Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Authenticity as Madness

I can relate to the idea of "thrown-ness"; especially when it is described as "incompleteness" and "non-mastery of origin". I also identify with the aspect of our thrownness being dependence on other beings. Not only are we dependent on other men and women to fulfill our lives, but we rely on many other species whose being in our lives further shows our thrownness or dependence. I like Heidegger partly because of his desire to live a truthful and fulfilled life, and not simply live in perpetual "forgetfulness", in other words, be less than his full potential as a human. Based on Heidegger's idea of fallen-ness, which he says is a crucial part of the ongoing process of trancendence, I have questions of how we are to translate this into our everyday reality. His starting point helps, where he puts us in the everydayness of there-being, lost in a forgotten-ness of ourselves, being preoccupied with the world (ontic).
How are we to be continually authentic though if we are conginually engaged with the "World"? Do we need to engage the world and only sometimes engage the ontological. Is Heidegger calling us to at least always be aware of the ontological and remember the exclusive right and privilege of authentic being? What would this look like? Does it require one to be a madman or an outsider? Is it possible to engage the world and still be have authentic being?

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