Notes on Heidegger's Being and Time - 2.II: Resoluteness (pp. 312-348, §§ 54-60) - Wednesday, 17 February 2016

2.II: Dasein’s attestation of an authentic potentiality-for-being, and resoluteness (pp. 312-348, §§ 54-60)

Wednesday, 17 February 2016 (Notes by Marton Ribary)

Conscience

The concept of potentiality bridges conscience and death. To be more precise, conscience expresses that Dasein is unable to realise the full spectrum of its own potentialities due to its radical finiteness marked by death. Death is the ultimate limiting factor which prevents Dasein from taking up all potentialities. Deciding on one thing means that other potentialities are nullified – every choice Dasein makes is necessarily the negation of other choices. For this reason, Dasein owes to itself the potentialities which it has missed because of choosing one and not something else. Dasein is in debt towards itself and feels guilty. Not because it made the wrong decision, but because it automatically negated others by simply making any decision whatsoever.

Freedom and choice

Freedom is “only in the choice of one possibility” (285). Dasein’s finiteness restricts the freedom by blocking the way of other possibilities. Death is the radical expression of the fact that choice is always of one which automatically blocks the way from other choices. The limiting factor is experienced in time through and through, but never so radically as in the case of the radical end of Dasein’s existence in death.

Time

Time gradually emerges as a key concept for Heidegger who stands in the middle of a long debate. How is time structured? How is time experienced? These and similar questions captivated intellectuals at the turn of the 19^th and 20^th centuries. In relation to time and death, Frank Kermode’s Sense of an ending (1967) is a remarkable discussion in the field of literary theory. Hans Georg Gadamer’s 1970 essay “Concerning empty and fulfilled time” (Southern Journal of Philosophy 4 (1970): 341-353) distinguishes between “clock time” and “festive time”. The moments of clock time are homogeneous and carry no meaning of their own. The moments of festive time are marked. Dasein relates to these moments (daily rituals, meals, festivals in the calendar etc.) which constitute a trajectory of Dasein’s existence. Time is experienced through remembering (a marked moment in the past) and expecting (a marked moment in the future). Gadamer was one of Heidegger’s most important students, and his description may be instructive to his Doktorvater’s thought as well.

The call of conscience

Who calls? Who is called? What is said in the call? Heidegger embarks on another structured discussion of the phenomenon of conscience. He answers: Dasein calls itself in a concealed manner and reminds itself about its own finite existence. As Heidegger puts it, “in understanding the call, Dasein is in thrall to [hörig] its ownmost possibility of existence. It has chosen itself.” (287) The key concept in this sentence is “hörig” which expresses that Dasein belongs to / listens to / is subject to / is submissive to / is obliged to Sein. The concept of “hörig” captures the complex relationship between Dasein and Sein.