Being and Time by Martin Heidegger - Essay Example

Order 432632 Topic: Heidegger "Being and Time" Introduction: The issue with authors like Martin Heidegger is they speak the language of experience. Those who seek and limit their search for knowledge to dictionaries and encyclopedias will find this language difficult to comprehend. The solution is not in asking individuals like Heidegger to be extroverts, for that is not possible for them. If the readers practice to be introverts, Heidegger is not only reachable, but will provide quality food for thought. Those who waver at the first step should not think about the marathon. Heidegger’s literature is for those who have profound patience and inquisitiveness. Going by the introduction by George Steiner to the luminous thoughts of Martin Heidegger, it looks certain that Steiner is willing to run the marathon race and he immensely enjoys it. He is not an ordinary critic. The issue with the ordinary critics is that the moment they do not comprehend the writings of an author, such thoughts are labeled as controversial. Didn’t the fox, after abandoning the efforts, say that the grapes were sour, when it could not reach out to the dangling, juicy bunches? The experience-level mind doesn’t move on the beaten track. It takes up unexpected and amazing unchartered paths. The thought-process emanates from the original impulse. Their convictions are undoubted; their explanations borders devotion. They are not available for second-opinions or for revisions. Their ‘first manuscript’ is the ‘final manuscript’. The problem with the specialists is they go on analyzing the leaf to such an extent (its size, shape, color etc), that they forget that the root is the original cause of leaf! Or even further—Mother Earth is the original cause…or even further on and on… No written sentences and paragraphs can arrest the spirit. The spirit by itself is the arresting as well as the freeing authority. So, to say ’eureka’ one should be able to grasp the true nature of the spirit. Once a difficult problem of mathematics is solved, the steps look so simple...Yes, only when it is solved! Before that how many times the climber has slipped from the steps of the ladder? Is it the fault of the ladder? Readying for the journey towards Being: Nobody will ever get to the bottom of the Being (this vast ocean is bottomless) It is impossible to define it, but the process of trying to know it, is rich and rewarding. At every step of the progress, one feels that the effort is worthwhile. Let me repeat, one’s reward is in the process of trying to know it! The problem for a lay reader is to understand Heidegger’s language. George Steiner writes, “Heidegger’s language, which is wholly inseparable from his philosophy and from the problems which that philosophy poses, must be seen as a characteristic phenomenon arising out of the circumstances of Germany between the cataclysm of 1918 and the rise to power of National Socialism.”(p.xii) More specifically he further states, “Heidegger belongs to the history of language and of literature as much as he does to that of ontology, of phenomenological epistemology, or of aesthetics (perhaps more so.)”(p.xiii) What is the nature of Being enquiry? Heidegger writes, “Being inquiry is seeking. Every seeking gets guided beforehand by what is sought. Inquiry is cognizant seeking for an entity both with regard to the fact that it is and with regard to its Being as it is….Inquiry itself is the behavior of a questioner, and therefore of an entity, and as such has its own character of Being.”(1962, p.24)Take the line from the book, “We are trying “to listen to the voice of Being” (p.32) Being is the source of all voices and it is voiceless—its silence is like the silence of the depth of the deepest ocean! Like the silence of the Nature, whose relentless activity of creation, sustenance and the final destruction goes on silently, at all times, without a fraction of a second’s break! For example, from ‘nowhere’ making its way through the solid stem and the soft green leaves, the rose bud makes its way, appears ‘suddenly’, takes its own time to grow, and finally exhibits its true nature—the colorful, flower full of fragrance! From where does that fragrance come? What is the destination of that fragrance? —this is the example of the voice of Being of that flower. Whether one notices or not, whether one cares or not, whether one is the beneficiary of it or not, the cycle of fragrance will go on without intermission. It is these sorts of ideas made Heidegger’s students exclaim in wonder. Steiner records, “It is the lectures, and the seminars already prior to Sein and Seit, which in Marburg in the very early 1920s, came as a shock of revelation to colleagues and students. The “secret king of thought,” as Arendt memorably called his master, acted through the spoken word. Gadamer characterizes the experience of hearing Heidegger as one off “Einbruch und Umbruch,” of “break-in and of [destructive-foundational] transformation.”(p. xiii) Such thoughts and ideas are the spontaneous overflow from the perennial, inexhaustible fountain of Heidegger’s inner being. It is not the artful mastery of the spoken or written language. Both have limitations and can be improved upon, additions, subtractions and corrections can be made in the subsequent editions. Just as pure water cannot be further purified, pure expressions, cannot be amended subsequently. They are just to be experienced and enjoyed.”Art is not, as in Plato and Cartesian realism, an imitation of the real. It is the more real”. (p.136)eidegger’s inner Heidegger writes, “ Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man.”(1962) Let us revert to the example of Nature again. No two trees (of the same category) are alike. No two branches are alike; no two fruits are alike; no two leaves are alike. They are all original and more real. One doesn’t see any imitation in the functioning of Nature. It offers changes within the changeless! Heidegger strongly intervenes. He is the rebel against all thought processes wherever they block the free human spirit. He wants to overcome Western Metaphysics that has been propounded by Plato (who acknowledges the importance of the noumenal realm of ideas over the phenomenal world we live in) and Aristotle (who objectifies the natural, phenomenal world by subjecting it to investigation and study). Heidegger’s question is, where is the place for the real human being as these strategies though well meaning, have left us without the ability and scope to listen to or open ourselves up to Being, to standing in awe before its mystery! Does he wish to say that human beings cannot do better than that? Is it fine for the human being to give up efforts for the inner search, and lose oneself in the profoundness of Being? Should the process of becoming cease for ever at such a juncture or should it proceed further unmindful of the fact whether it will fructify or not? Whether it will lead to the final destination or not? What is the final destination by the way if at all finality exists about it? These are some of the provoking ideas of Heidegger when he offers comments on the stand of Plato and Aristotle. Steiner writes, “Most stringently, Martin Heidegger rejects what he calls “the onto-theological”; this is to say the attempts to found a philosophy of Being or epistemology of consciousness on some kind of rationally or intuitively postulated theological basis.”(p. xvii) This means, he is not in favor of any organized religion or organized political philosophy. Each one has to conduct one’s own inner search and arrive at own conclusions about one’s Being. Like each bud creates its own rose with the awareness that it has a common support with other roses. Heidegger on death: Steiner explains Heidegger’s notion of authenticity, the acceptance that we are beings-toward-death, and his stand that anxiety, guilt, and care are inherent to authentic being. In the ordinary parlance, death is a sudden, unexpected (unwanted too) event. Nobody knows the exact time of death, until it happens. But from the transcendental point of views, death is not an accident, it is an incident. We are both beings-in-the-world and beings-in-time. We only know the part of the journey, are ignorant about the full length of the journey. Therefore, according to Heidegger Death is not an event; it is a phenomenon to be understood existentially. It is the inevitable process and a part of becoming or it is the evolutionary process. Similarly, the correct procedure to eliminate Angst, or existential anxiety, is not through religious beliefs, rituals, counseling or psycho-pharmaceuticals; it is the process of giving up the identified negativities, the root cause for the suffering of a human being. Each human being must live authentically, true to his nature and beliefs, perform actions without the motivated desires and leave the rest to the fate. Every Being in the world lives for a purpose, not solely of one’s choice, but as ordained by the fate. So, no need to worry over the frivolous secular issues, over one which one should not worry at all! Embracing fate also is not a week submission of the inevitable circumstances; it is the dynamic surrender of an individual in response to one’s internal rhythm! A perfect Being cannot be conditioned by Time! Time can only watch such a Being but cannot conquer Being! This is the highest transcendental explanation about Being! Its greatness lies in the fact that Being can never be explained for the benefit of others. The state of Being is only to be experienced; it is strictly an individual effort for perfection. It is not a collective philosophy for creating a religious cult of political party. Having reached the ultimate perfection, Being just remains established there! Thereafter no forward or lateral movements remain for the Being! Referring to that unexplainable state, Steiner writes, “The letter kills the spirit. The written text is mute in the face of responding challenge. It does not admit inward growth and correction.” (p.xiv) Silence and face to face speech: Which then is the most appropriate and effective method of communication between two individuals? Though silence is supreme, in the secular world of imperfect beings, an alternative mode will have to be adopted for practical considerations. Steiner writes, “It is the sophist, the rhetorician, the venial orator who commits their craft to writing. The true poet is an oral rhapsode. The true thinker, the authentic pedagogue above all, relies face-to-face speech, on the uniquely focused dynamics of direct address, as these knit question to answer, and living voice to living reception.” (p.xiv) By living reception, one needs to know that such a Being, has ready answer to every question. He doesn’t need to prepare and look up for previously recorded notes. All his responses are true and spring froth from spontaneity. Since truth of such a Being has no alternatives, whatever he speaks is nothing but truth and will pass the ultimate test. The answers will be like aphorisms and can be verified as for their authenticity. The Omnipresence of Being: Is the same Being same at all times? Does Time condition such a Being? In this context, distinction needs to be made between the perfect Being and the evolving Being. Was Heidegger oscillating like the pendulum between the two extremes? Let us examine this paradox in his personality. Steiner identifies this idea in the works of Heidegger—that we are beings-in-the-world and therefore we must also be beings that care; care for what others think about us and we also must care for others. Care for the world. This care for the others idea can be stretched to any extent. It is a great philanthropic concept, and its benevolence is limitless. Heidegger seems to say, that having arrived in this world at a particular time, we have the responsibilities towards the fellow beings (could be even towards the plant and animal kingdom) as per the demand of that particular time, for the betterment of Planet Earth. We cannot sit as the silent, non-participating spectator amidst the social ruin or demoralization in the society, cultivating within us, a sense of uselessness. That is the sure sign of degeneration of the inner world of an individual. When an individual cannot respond in a positive or negative way, all growth stops. Stagnancy is not good for an individual or humankind as a whole. Heidegger and Nazism-can darkness and light exist together? How the philanthropic attitude of Heidegger is compatible with his involvement with Nazism? This is the controversial issue about him for which Steiner is unable to give satisfactory explanation or authentic answer. How the caring and the attitude of commitment are compatible with the Nazi concentration camps? Does he have affinity with the Nazi ideology? How silence on his part and his non-critical attitude towards Fuhrer can be explained both from the secular or philosophical points of view? Does he perceive the designs of destiny, unfolding of the mysteries of that Incomprehensible Power in wars and holocausts? Is humanity to watch from the sidelines, philosophize and be content and surrender to the wise saying, ‘everything is happening as it should?’ –or as per the oriental style of thinking say, that the events are part of the designs of the destiny, the demand of the time etc! Steiner quotes the research made by Farias on the subject and writes, “Farias has shown Heidegger to be lying when he sought to conceal his retention until 1945 of his membership card in the Nazi party. He has clarified the full extent of Heidegger’s psychic collapse after the surrender of the Reich and shown how patently inadequate were the answers which Martin Heidegger gave to those who, during the time of the de-nazification tribunals, investigated his conduct….specific moments in Heidegger’s object treatment of endangered academic colleagues, in Heidegger’s admiration for the Fuhrer, and in Heidegger’s cunning tactics of survival, can no longer be passed over” (p. xxiv) He further says, “Agriculture is now a motorized food industry, the same thing in its essence as the production of corpses in the gas chambers and the extermination camps, the same thing as blockades and the reduction of countries to famine, the same thing as the manufacture of hydrogen bombs.”(1962) Having stated this fact Steiner goes to the defense of Heidegger and writes, “Being and Time is written during the early 1920s. It comes, as I have said, of the apocalypse of 1918 and of the Expressionist climate. It fully predates National Socialism. No Nazi hoodlum, to my knowledge, ever read or would have been capable of reading it.”(p. xxiv) Can an individual who has penned a meritorious book like “Being and Time,” be an all-out Nazi supporter and admirer of the Holocaust philosophy? Seems incredible! One cannot be Divine and Satan at the same time! Light and Darkness cannot exist at the same place at the same time! How an intellectual of the level of Heidegger aspire that the pursuit of goodness and virtue has to be postponed till the annihilation of a particular race? Can an individual who repeatedly mentions about his concept of universal prosperity through individual prosperity( the emphasis is on the inner prosperity of the individual), be a supporter of the holocaust of women and young children? Does he not realize that without bothering about spiritual and moral questions, attainment of peace is unrealistic, irrational and unscientific hope? What did he really expect from Fuhrer’s Germany? Was he violent within? Was he silent within? Heidegger’s cosmological approach to the issues, his love for Nature, his respect for the animal kingdom, his firm belief that ‘world is one family’ (or it should be so!) is revealed through his writings and there seems to be no shortsightedness, selfishness, religious bigotry, racism etc. in his writings. Steiner gives examples about the broad vision of Heidegger thus:“Creation _should be_ custody; a human construction _should be_ the elicitation and housing of the great springs of being" (p.136); "Man has labored and thought not with but against the grain of things. He has not given lodging to the forces and creatures of the natural world but made them homeless" (p.136);”No doubt, he is a difficult writer to understand and interpretation of his ideas is all the more difficult. When the interpretation is not clear the conclusions of the critics would be liable to further scrutiny. In the Preface to the book, “Being and Time”, it is acknowledged thus: “More than thirty years have passed since Being and Time first appeared, and it has now become perhaps the most celebrated philosophical work which Germany has produced in this century. It is a difficult book, even for the German reader, and highly resistant to translation, so much so that it has often been called “untranslatable.”(1962, p.13) Conclusion: "The earth, says Heidegger, must once again be made a _Spielraum_, literally, a space in which to play" (p.149). One feels as if he is addressing the UN Assembly in the year 2010. There is no doubt that the Heidegger’s works are the spirit of time! Steiner observation goes thus: “Words failed Heidegger and, at a pivotal stage in his life and work, he failed them. The symmetries of immanence are cruel.”(xxi) Man neglected the external circumstances (Nature)-his tragedy number one. Then he neglected his internal circumstances-tragedy number two. Most of the intellectuals do not possess the faintest idea about Being. They cannot draw its elementary design. It is just like the plight of the medical practitioners trying to cure the disease, without knowing what actually the disease is. Out of ignorance, when he attempts the cure, he just intensifies the disease. The root cause of the inner disease of the man is his extra cleverness. He has knowingly or unknowingly displaced the inner wisdom and allowed cleverness to dominate with the tool of research. What is Being and how it can be found? One comes to the crux of the issue with this question. It can be found only within. A procedure of search will be perfected by the concerned individual only; none else will come to the rescue. Firstly an individual and come to conclusion what is holding him back from the search of Being. It could be greed, envy and ego in most of the cases. When one initiates sincere efforts to remove them, the stillness following liberation can be experienced. To start with, it can be momentary—and yet it will produce some insights about the destination of Being. Relentless pursuit of this procedure is the only way—there is no other path! Works Cited: Heidegger, Martin (Author), Macquarrie, John (Translator), Robinson, Edward(Translator).Being and Time; Harper; Revised edition, August 29, 1962. Steiner, George. Martin Heidegger; University Of Chicago Press, September 25, 1991. Read More