Martin Heidegger: Being and Time

Summary

This video delves into the profound philosophy of Martin Heidegger, focusing on his seminal work 'Being and Time.' It explores Heidegger's challenge to traditional subject-object distinctions and introduces the concept of Dasein, or 'being-there.' The video discusses how Heidegger's ideas on being, time, and authenticity can be applied to our everyday lives, emphasizing the importance of understanding our existence and the finite nature of our lives. It also touches on Heidegger's views on the ready-to-hand and present-at-hand, suggesting that our interaction with the world is often robotic and inauthentic until we confront our mortality and the infinite possibilities of our existence.

Takeaways

• 📚 Martin Heidegger is a pivotal German philosopher known for his work 'Being and Time', which is central to phenomenological and existential philosophy.
• 🌟 'Being and Time' explores the meaning of being and questions what is common to all entities that make them entities.
• 🔍 Heidegger introduces the concept of Dasein, which translates to 'being there', to challenge the subject-object dichotomy of earlier philosophical thought.
• 🤔 Heidegger critiques the Enlightenment-era philosophy, arguing that it fails to fundamentally understand what existence is, focusing instead on what exists.
• 🛠 The notion of 'ready-to-hand' and 'present-at-hand' illustrates how we often interact with tools and concepts without being consciously aware of them until they break or fail.
• 🌐 Heidegger emphasizes the interconnectedness of being and the world, suggesting that they are not separate entities but are interlinked and necessary for each other.
• 🕰 'Being and Time' suggests that time is the form of human life, with the future, past, and present interwoven to create our understanding of time.
• 🧐 Authenticity, for Heidegger, involves recognizing our finite existence and the infinitude of possibilities within our lifetime, leading to a more meaningful engagement with the world.
• 🌱 Heidegger's philosophy encourages a deeper, more vulnerable connection with the world, promoting an authentic life that acknowledges our unity with all beings and concepts.
• 📈 The video aims to bridge the gap between explaining Heidegger's complex logic and its real-world implications, providing a comprehensive understanding of his work.

Q & A

What is Martin Heidegger best known for?

Martin Heidegger is best known for his work 'Being and Time,' which is considered one of the most important contributions to phenomenological and existential philosophy.

What does Heidegger mean by 'Dasein'?

'Dasein' is a term Heidegger uses to refer to the human experience of 'being there' or simply existing. It emphasizes the fundamental state of being before any specific thoughts or categorizations.

How does Heidegger challenge Enlightenment-era philosophy?

Heidegger challenges Enlightenment-era philosophy by rejecting the traditional distinction between subject (the individual) and object (the world). He argues that existence cannot be reduced to a mere separation of self and the external world.

What is the difference between 'ready to hand' and 'present at hand' in Heidegger's philosophy?

'Ready to hand' refers to tools or concepts that become almost invisible to us when we use them without problems, while 'present at hand' describes tools or concepts that we become consciously aware of when they break or fail.

Why does Heidegger emphasize the concept of 'being in the world'?

Heidegger emphasizes 'being in the world' to highlight the inseparability of the self and the environment. He argues that being is always intertwined with the world around us, challenging the idea of an independent, isolated self.

What is Heidegger's view on human existence and authenticity?

Heidegger believes that human existence is often characterized by 'inauthenticity,' where individuals live according to societal norms and expectations. He argues that authenticity comes from recognizing the finite nature of life and making choices based on true self-understanding rather than external pressures.

How does Heidegger relate time to human existence?

Heidegger argues that time is the fundamental structure of human existence. He introduces the concept of 'temporal ecstasy,' where our understanding of the future, past, and present shapes our perception of being. Time allows for a deeper understanding of our existence and authenticity.

What role does anxiety play in Heidegger's philosophy?

Heidegger sees anxiety as an underlying structure of what it means to be human. Anxiety arises from the realization of our finite time and the inevitability of death. This awareness encourages individuals to live authentically and make meaningful choices.

Why does Heidegger believe that understanding 'being' is crucial?

Heidegger argues that understanding 'being' is crucial because it is the foundation for all other fields of study and human experience. Being is the backdrop against which all other concepts and entities exist, and understanding it allows for a deeper grasp of reality.

How does Heidegger's philosophy relate to existentialism?

Heidegger's philosophy relates to existentialism in its emphasis on individual existence, freedom, and the finite nature of life. He shares common ground with existentialists like Jean-Paul Sartre and Søren Kierkegaard in exploring themes of authenticity, choice, and the human condition.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction to Martin Heidegger's Philosophy

This paragraph introduces Martin Heidegger, a pivotal German philosopher born in 1889, and his significant work 'Being and Time'. It emphasizes the importance of phenomenology and existentialism in understanding human experience. Heidegger's approach to philosophy is explained, focusing on the concept of 'Dasein', or 'being-there', which challenges the traditional subject-object dichotomy. The paragraph also touches on how Heidegger's work serves as a foundation for 20th-century philosophy and his critique of Enlightenment-era ontology.

05:02

🤔 The Importance of Questioning Existence

Paragraph 2 delves into the importance of understanding existence, as explored by Heidegger in 'Being and Time'. It discusses the historical oversight of philosophers in focusing solely on what exists rather than the nature of existence itself. The paragraph also introduces the concept of 'ready-to-hand' and 'present-at-hand' to illustrate how humans often overlook the tools and concepts they use until they fail, highlighting the human tendency to accept societal roles and definitions without questioning, which Heidegger refers to as 'everydayness'.

10:07

🌟 The Authentic and Inauthentic Life

This paragraph discusses Heidegger's concept of authenticity versus inauthenticity, or 'Verfallen', which translates to 'fallenness'. It explains how societal norms and expectations can lead to an inauthentic existence, and how an awareness of our mortality and the finite nature of our lives can lead to a more authentic experience. The paragraph also introduces the existential concepts of 'Befindlichkeit', 'Verstehen', and 'Das Nichts', which relate to how we find ourselves in the world, understand our being, and confront the idea of nothingness or death.

15:10

🌱 Embracing Authenticity and Unity with the World

The final paragraph emphasizes the importance of recognizing our unity with the world and the infinitude of ideas and perceptions available to us within our finite lifespan. It discusses how Heidegger's philosophy suggests we should become more vulnerable and aware of our existence to achieve authenticity. The paragraph also touches on the idea of 'thrownness', where we are thrust into the world without choice, and how this should lead us to appreciate our existence and the specialness of being human.

Keywords

💡Phenomenology

Phenomenology is a philosophical approach that focuses on the study of phenomena as experienced from the first-person point of view. In the context of the video, phenomenology is mentioned as a way to explore the actual phenomena that we experience, such as what we see, taste, smell, touch, hear, and feel, rather than asking what we really are. It's a method that emphasizes the subjective experience of reality, which is central to Heidegger's work 'Being and Time'.

💡Existentialism

Existentialism is a philosophical theory that emphasizes individual existence, freedom, and choice. The video discusses how Heidegger's work is influential in existential philosophy, highlighting the importance of individual experience and the choices we make as humans. It contrasts with the traditional subject-object approach by emphasizing the interconnection between the individual and the world.

💡Dasein

Dasein is a German term that Heidegger uses to describe the state of being there or the experience of being. It roughly translates to 'being there' in English. The video explains that Dasein refers to the human experience of being before thought, which is a fundamental aspect of our existence that Heidegger argues precedes the Cartesian 'cogito, ergo sum' (I think, therefore I am).

💡Subject and Object

The concepts of 'subject' and 'object' are central to traditional Western philosophy, where the subject is the experiencing self and the object is the external world. The video discusses how Heidegger challenges this distinction, arguing for a more unified view of being where the subject and object are not separate but interlinked, as part of the concept of Dasein.

💡Ontology

Ontology is the philosophical study of the nature of being, becoming, and existence. The video mentions that Heidegger critiques the ontology of the Enlightenment era, arguing that it is flawed because it fails to fundamentally address what existence is. Heidegger's work in 'Being and Time' is a significant contribution to ontological discussions.

💡Authenticity

Authenticity, in the context of the video, refers to a mode of being where one is true to oneself and one's own experiences, rather than being shaped by societal norms and expectations. Heidegger discusses the idea of 'Verfallen' or 'fallenness,' which is the inauthentic state of being, and contrasts it with an authentic existence that embraces the individual's unique experience and potential.

💡Temporal Ecstasy

Temporal ecstasy, as mentioned in the video, is a concept used by Heidegger to describe the mental engagement with time. It involves the structural moments of being 'ahead of itself' (futural), 'already in a world' (past), and 'being alongside' (present). These moments together create our conception of the present and are integral to understanding our existence in time.

💡Anxiety

Anxiety, in Heidegger's philosophy, is not just an emotion but an underlying structure of human existence. The video explains that anxiety, particularly in the face of death and nothingness, can lead to a more authentic existence. It is a response to the finite nature of our lives and the infinite possibilities that we encounter within our existence.

💡Readiness-to-Hand

Readiness-to-hand is a Heideggerian term that describes the way tools or concepts are experienced when they are functioning properly and are integrated into our activities without drawing attention to themselves. The video uses the example of a hammer to illustrate how tools can become 'invisible' in use until they break or malfunction, shifting to 'presence-at-hand,' where they become the focus of attention.

💡Everydayness

Everydayness refers to the mundane, routine aspects of daily life that are often dictated by societal norms and traditions. The video discusses how Heidegger sees this as a state of inauthenticity, where individuals are not fully engaging with their own existence but are instead following prescribed roles and expectations. Authenticity, in contrast, involves a deeper, more individualized engagement with the world.

Highlights

Martin Heidegger is considered one of the most important German philosophers of all time.

Heidegger's work 'Being and Time' is a cornerstone of phenomenological and existential philosophy.

Phenomenology focuses on the phenomena of our experiences, while existentialism emphasizes individual existence and choice.

The core purpose of 'Being and Time' is to address the meaning of being and what is common to all entities.

Heidegger introduces the concept of Dasein, which translates to 'being there', to explore the nature of human existence.

Heidegger challenges the subject-object dichotomy of Enlightenment-era philosophy, proposing a more holistic view of being.

Dasein represents the pre-thought experience of being, which Heidegger argues is fundamental to human existence.

Heidegger's philosophy suggests that being and the world are interlinked, rejecting the idea of them as separate entities.

Heidegger critiques the ontology of the Enlightenment, arguing that it failed to fundamentally understand the nature of being.

The concept of 'being-in-the-world' emphasizes the inseparability of the individual and their environment.

Heidegger discusses how our understanding of concepts can blur when we become familiar with them, using the example of reading text.

The 'ready-to-hand' concept describes how tools or concepts can become invisible in our use until they fail.

Heidegger argues that the realization of our finite time is the gateway to authenticity and a deeper understanding of being.

The concept of 'temporal ecstasy' describes our mental engagement with the future, past, and present.

Heidegger sees anxiety as an underlying structure of human existence, particularly in relation to the inevitability of death.

The idea of 'thrownness' suggests that we are thrust into the world and must navigate our existence from that starting point.

Heidegger's philosophy encourages us to embrace vulnerability and authenticity by understanding our unity with the world.

The video aims to bridge the gap between Heidegger's complex philosophical concepts and their real-world implications.

Transcripts

Martin Heidegger was born September 26 of 1889 hailing from Messkirch Germany he

is regarded as one of the single most important German philosophers of all

time he is best known for the extremely influential work of being in time to

many today being in time is one of the most important pieces of

phenomenological and existential philosophy phenomenology being the

actual phenomena that we experience what we see what we taste what we smell touch

hear and feel instead of focusing or asking what we

really are it focuses on the phenomena that surrounds our lives and with

existentialism being the emphasis on individual existence and the freedom and

choice that we all experience as human individuals the core purpose of being in

time is addressing the meaning of being what is it to be what is common to all

entities that make them entities these questions are so important in the

subsequent creation of being in time is hands down one of the most important

pieces and turning points in philosophy today being in time and Heideggarian

philosophy is the backdrop of 20th century philosophy noting this and our

future videos around political theory and philosophy I'm considering this

video as one of the single most important videos I make Heidegger

approaches these huge questions through the lens of Dasein which roughly

translates in English to simply being there in order to get into being in time

we need to take a look at what Martin Heidegger is responding to and how he is

fundamentally reacting to enlightenment-era philosophy because

from the time of de cartes Locke Kant and even Hume we typically looked at the

world and human experience through the lens of subject and object the subject

being you and the object being the world in which you imposed yourself on the

importance of this is the distinction and separation of you and the world you

are two separate things under this philosophy this distinction between

subject and object is something Heidegger doubts there's something else

extremely important here as well when modern philosophers

such as Descartes wanted to explain existence they wanted to explain

themselves what Descartes ultimately did is he narrowed down his direct path

of existence and ultimately the conclusion that Descartes came to about

existence is that you can essentially strip everything away and the only thing

that provides proof of our existence is the fact that we think it's the fact

that I'm having thoughts to begin with therefore I must be something therefore

I must be something that thinks yet Heidegger notices something he notices a

flaw in this reasoning this cannot be the first proof of our existence in

order to make that abstraction in order to come up with the idea of that I think

therefore I am there has to be something before that before you think you have to

be and simply being is the very first human experience that we have this

simple being that Heidegger is talking about before thought is ultimately what

he is referring to as Dasein Dasein is an incredibly hard concept to grasp in

my opinion it has been very difficult for me but this human experience of

being before thought before anything else seems to be the very best example I

have stumbled across Heidegger wanted to completely create new words for this it

may sound like philosophers of the past we're talking about what Heidegger is

talking about with being but they really haven't so in creating new words such as

Dasein he wanted to leave all the prior philosophical baggage behind and even

more importantly with being and Dasein Heidegger refers to being more

specifically as being in the world like the fundamental rejection of subject and

object a person and the world as a separate entity he views being as

something as being hyphenated in the world this is what he's ultimately

referring to and being in time as simply being in the world because you ultimately

cant be without the world they're not two separate things the world

around you and being as yourself are completely interlinked and necessary for

one another the past modern idea of being a separate agent of the world

roaming around and navigating an external world was incorrect and

Heidegger's eyes and it missed an incredibly important part of that Dasein

that being this is why ultimately Martin Heidegger is writing this he saw the

fundamental flaws within enlightenment-era philosophy and the

tools used for their analysis Heidegger believed that the ontology of

the Enlightenment era was completely flawed from the get-go ontology being

the actual philosophical study of the nature of being becoming an existence

ontology typically deals with questions about what things exist and what can

exist because for so long people have been concerned with what existed yet

there is one critical mistake that they made and asking this question they

haven't even fundamentally contented with what existence was this is the

ultimate backdrop and reasoning for Martin heidegger's work being in time a

cynical mind may ask the question what's the point of this what's the point of

contending with being in the early 1900's we've experienced the Scientific

Revolution created robust new political systems new ways of material life for

Humanity why concern yourself necessarily with the idea of existence

the answer that Heidegger would likely give at this question is that being

presupposes everything being is the backdrop for nearly every single thing

in our lives and comes before every concept that we know in every field of

study that we know such as mathematics science physics and the like that is why

this question of being and fundamentally figuring out what being is is important

because every single thing that we could talk about every single thing that we

could analyze is an already existing thing now on to being there's all kinds

of different realms that exist for being we understand entities as things people

animals concepts but within these questions fundamentally we must

understand what it is to be human and the being that encapsulates humanity

when concerning ourselves with human epistemology epistemology being

ultimately how we understand knowledge we see that in a human context we react

and interact with things very distinctly one very distinct human phenomena

Heidegger noticed is that when we discover concepts or truth the

interlinked concepts and other truths that connect themselves to that singular

truth often become completely blurred one example of this is whenever you read

the very text that you were reading is the only real defined text the text

surrounding it becomes blurred ultimately this manifests physically in

our life as well another famous example of this is when ever you are hammering

in a nail into a board the hammer that you are using that very tool almost

disappears from your direct consciousness after hammering away for

some time you forget that the Hammers actually there

Heidegger calls this phenomena ready to hand you typically only notice the tool

or concept that is ready to hand whenever it doesn't work correctly or

breaks so say when you're hammering in the nail the complete head of the hammer

falls apart you would instantly recognize that it is in your hand at

that point when you do notice this this is what Heidegger calls present at hand

the importance of these terms and concepts present at hand and ready to hand is

that Heidegger ultimately wants to convey to us that the world is to be

discovered it isn't necessarily blank and given to us but ultimately it is

right underneath our nose to many people the mark of a great philosopher the mark

of a great academic or a teacher is someone who can explain things that

deeply and inherently we already know but haven't externally formulated at

verbally or even consciously the further conceptual importance of ready to hand

to Heidegger is something that many people often miss in his work when

enlightenment-era philosophers ask the question of what exists whenever they

partake in the ontology of the time existence to them

was essentially ready to hand they never took the fundamental steps in

discovering what existence and being really was because enlightenment air

philosophers weren't the only victims of this this ready at hand phenomena is a

very human phenomena Heidegger noticed something extremely

important as human beings living within a society we often go about our lives in

an incredibly robotic way in this roboticism comes from the very human

experience of simply blurring everything out the world is made up of concepts the

world is made up of tools and the more humans interact with those tools and

concepts the more they sort of disappear the more they almost become unimportant

we do this with definitions and language we do this with relationships my

boyfriend or girlfriend broke up with me and I didn't know what I had until it

was gone in a weird way we almost just accept this preordained essence in our

lives we accept weird roles designed from society our family and even peer

group Heidegger points out we have a tendency to live and what he calls the

everydayness the everydayness is often what separates the inauthentic human

experience and the authentic human experience one sense of self of what one

is to do with their life and how one is supposed to live where the most part is

given from the outside and an authentic experience of life

Heidegger calls this inauthenticity of life Verfallen which translates into

fallenness ultimately he is trying to elaborate on the everydayness of our

life in which Dasein's immersion of the world and our being in the world revolves

around menial traditions rituals and the social expectations that society

imprints on us but according to Heidegger there is a being in which we

escape their fallen we can almost look past the everydayness of life Heidegger

explains the how in Befindlichkeit I think I think I said that right

Befindlichkeit translates roughly into how one finds oneself our being finds itself

in a situation where one radically thrown into the world from

birth a birth in which no one really asked for this is where we get into the

existentialism of Heidegger and its philosophical relation to others such as

Jean-Paul Sartre Soren Kierkegaard and even Simone de Beauvoir Heidegger calls

this mode of understanding our being Verstehen which roughly translates to

understanding and the understanding mainly points towards the infinite

amount of possibilities that we have in our life within the finite span of time

the sign being in the world on the opposite of the finite spectrum of life

we have Das Nichts which roughly translates into nothing this is likely symbolized

as death as completely void as something at the end of the journey

Heidegger saw the realization of the finite span of time that we have as the

ultimate gateway towards authenticity and the ultimate gateway towards being

in the world because ultimately understanding time and our place within

it is ultimately understanding Dasein it's understanding our being in the

world it's right here that the notion of being in time are

brought together in essence time is the form of human life according to

Heidegger the structural moments where we contend with time mentally is what

Heidegger calls a temporal ecstasy the ahead of itself manifests as the futural

the very future the already in a world manifests the past or having been

anything that has been in the past and being alongside manifests the present

actualization of the other two moments is what ultimately creates our

conception of the present Heidegger quotes this as follows we reach out

towards the future while taking up our past thus yielding our present

activities note how the future and hence the aspect of possibility has priority

over the other two moments in essence being able to understand the future and

past being able to understand the past where at once was birth then the impending

future of death creates the ultimate understanding of the present not only

does it create the ultimate under of the present as a conception but as a

manifested reality a reality of the finite and our finite amount of time

here because it is an anxiety before the fear of nothingness

it's an anxiety in the face of death don't want to make it sound so you know too

scary but I've already said it is a democratic institution it is something

you need to deal with and again we're looking for Universal structures one of

the structures of all stories about the selves even the ones we tell ourselves

no matter how disconnected they may be they end in this rather interesting

institution death very interesting institution well he examines the mood of

anxiety then not as a mere mood that just comes to come upon you once in a

while but it is an underlying structure of what it means to be human

thus the crowd thus the inauthentic life the socially imposed norms become far

less attractive Heidegger argued this is when we become

authentic when we interact with the world and being with the understanding

of the finite we start to do things because we want to not necessarily

because we have to follow along with the norm further heidegger's understanding

of unity and the unity of being is incredibly important in a physical and

even non-physical level since being is being it is the fundamental backdrop

behind everything you the plants the animals and even concepts behind everything is

simply being and with the term throwness

as we discussed beforehand you are thrusted into the world into being this

supposes a level of unity between everything the unity of you a unity of

the world further the structure of Heideggarian philosophy and analytics show

that concepts and things cannot exist without you since existence only exists

within our perception and the reality without our perception is completely

irrelevant to our existence a good example of this as if a tree falls and

no one is around to hear it or see it and no one ever finds it did it

actually happen? Heidegger would likely respond as if that just simply didn't

matter at all and he would further respond with: it completely depends on

the perspective in which you are coming from do you hold the perspective of

a trump supporter? Do you hold the perspective of a Nazi? Or an ex-Nazi maybe a bona fide political liberal the date and time and the perspective in

which you hold the being of something changes that being and its entirety

therefore dealing with things outside our sphere of being is not very sensible

philosophy to Heidegger this is just another aspect and what time plays in

our being the implication of being in time is immense

in the world Heidegger is ultimately teaching us to become far more

vulnerable people far more vulnerable humans understanding our direct

conceptual and physical unity with everything in the world further we must

be completely aware of the infinitude of ideas the infinite number of perceptions

that may come to us throughout our finite period of time between birth and

death therefore we must occasionally check our dogmatism we should

occasionally check our biases and in doing this recognizing our unity

recognizing the infinite amount of ideas and perceptions that may come to us we

hit a place of human authenticity further Heidegger expresses that there

are ways to understand Dasein there are ways to understand being a being and

understanding being separating yourself from the mundaneness of general life and

society the day-to-dayness going to work and general responsibilities taking a walk

in the middle of nowhere taking a walk in the woods perceiving the unity and

everything around you Heidegger expresses a type of

specialness in human being and simply being a human and this specialness of

being is something we should not take for granted we should be fully aware of

our unity of our closeness to nature our closeness to other animals beings and

even the conceptual relationship with concepts understanding this

vulnerability of ourselves is what will create a more authentic human authentic

self and ultimately a more authentic life

thank you guys so much for watching this was hands down the most difficult video

I have had to make Heidegger hands down is the most difficult philosopher for me

to understand and even secondary resources on him were extremely

difficult to siphon through the world always in the mode of representing

subject but are useless I don't understand a fucking goddamn thing here

this video over being in time is an only 1 part video of a 3 part series the next

video coming up will be Heidegger's work on the question of technology which is

honestly probably my favorite work of his but you could never talk about the

question of technology without talking about being and time and his concepts

before it ultimately with this video what I wanted to do is I wanted to

create a video that no one really has been able to pull off I noticed some

videos on Heidegger are extremely analytical and they're extremely good at

explaining his logic and concepts but they ultimately fail to mention the

real-world implications that we would probably feel and then further there are

other videos talking about the real-world implications and the physical

reality of his work yet they kind of failed to mention his actual important

concepts and is important logic behind his work hopefully I was able to pull

this off but as always guys if you did enjoy the video please leave a like if

you want to see more feel free to subscribe and turn off the notification

bell also I have a twitch channel I stream

Tuesday Thursday Friday at 7 o'clock and it would be cool to hang out with you

guys also if you guys want to join the discord down below feel free to reach

out to me talk to me anytime and or reach out to me all my socials thanks so

much for watching guys and thank you for the support