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Tuesday, 05 December 2006 17:42 |
| | Duane Davis |
By JOHN NORTH
HENDERSONVILLE ÇƒÓ German philosopher Martin Heideggerës famous quote, "Being is the Being of beings," was the focus of a lecture by Duane Davis on Nov. 7 at UNC Ashevilleës Kellogg Center.
"Heidegger says the question of the meaning of being is the most important task of a human being," Davis asserted.
Moreover,
his meaning of being "leads to a radically new definition of truth ǃÓ
truth emerges from being, but only if itës visible from a perspective
... a particular limited view."
Ultimately, for Heidegger, the way to get to meaning "is to be authentic," Davis said.
On what Davis
described as "a terrible, terrible rainy night," more than 30 people
attended the monthly Great Quotes lecture and discussion series
co-sponsored by the Institute for Applied Philosophy and the UNCA
Philosophy Department.
While "it sounds
cryptic as cryptic can be," the title quote for the lecture is the best
summary of Heideggerës view on being, Davis, an associate professor of
philosophy at UNCA, noted.
Heidegger, who
lived from 1899 to 1976, "was the most important philosopher of the
20th century," Davis asserted, although he acknowledged that "some
people would say it was Ludwig Wittgenstein (1889-1951)."
Heidegger, whose
best-known work was "Being and Time," remains important because "people
are still talking about him," Davis pointed out. The German thinkerës
work filled dozens of volumes, he added.
Davis noted that his address would focus "mainly on the early works of Heidegger."
He began by
noting that Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of the German
Republic on Jan. 30, 1933, after which Heidegger was elected by the
faculty on April 21, 1933 to serve as rector of Freiburg University.
Heidegger previously had been apolitical, Davis noted, and the
philosopher later claimed that he accepted the politically charged post
with the motive of resisting the political control of the university.
However, on May
3, 1933, he joined the Nazi Party and later that month delivered his
rectorës inaugural address that, at least initially, was interpreted s
an expression of his support of Hitlerës regime.
While some
contend that Heidegger, as rector, became instrumental to Nazi politics
and helped to transform the university into Hitlerës mold, a year
later, he resigned and took no further part in politics.
Whatës more, his
inaugural rectorës address later was found incompatible with the party
line and its text was eventually banned by the Nazis. For some time, he
was under the surveillance of the Gestapo. He finally was humiliated in
1944, when he was declared the most "expendable" member of the faculty
and sent to the Rhine to dig trenches.
Because of the
ambiguities of Heideggerës attitude toward Nazism, the period of his
life under Hitlerës regime and the relationship between his philosophy
and political involvement are still the subject of controversy and
heated debate, Davis noted.
Following
Germanyës defeat in World War II, Heidegger was in 1945 forbidden to
teach and in 1946 dismissed from his chair of philosophy because of
alleged Nazi sympathies. The ban was lifted in 1949.
"Every few
years, someone rediscovers that Heidegger was a Nazi and says we
shouldnët have anything to do with him," Davis observed. Yet, he was
dismissed from the faculty "and assigned to dig ditches, so he must not
have been in too good of graces with the Nazis."
At that point,
Davis noted that, earlier in his career, Heidegger focused primarily on
"existence" in his work, "Being and Time."
"He liked to
play with language," Davis said. "He felt language carried along its
etymological roots." Heidegger spoke of "being there, being situated in
a place and, more importantly, being in time. That care, that concern,
that interest are defining characteristics of being."
Davis said Heidegger contended that there are three errors in traditional ontology, including:
ï Being as the most universal concept.
ï Being as indefinable.
ï Being as the sole self-evident concept.
In "Being and
Time," Heidegger writes "about how our lives are lived within limits,"
the professor noted. "The most important aspect of temporality is that
it ends ... The fact that time is finite, for Heidegger, is the source
of the truth."
As for care and
temporality, Heidegger believed "things are meaningful only through
care" and that "we never really live in the moment," Davis said.
After a pause,
Davis digressed, telling of listening to a motivational speaker at a
banquet in Asheville. The speaker said he had left his successful
business career after realizing he "wasnët really living in the moment."
Davis said the
man, whom he did not name, even had written a book titled, "I Need to
Be in the Moment." Grimacing, the professor said, "I wasnët just
disgusted that the man was a sophist ... The idea that he was doing
something profound" was what really annoyed him.
"His idea that
one needs to be completely in the moment ... We canët be completely in
the moment ... Having a past and a future are good things."
To that end,
Davis noted that Heidegger said that no two people can be in the moment
in the same way ÇƒÓ "weëre haunted by our pasts. We also look forward."
Whatës more, the
professor said Heidegger stated that "being in the moment is the most
trivial, bland way to live. Heidegger says life is ecstatic ...
standing out. The fact that we canët completely occupy the moment is
what makes life meaningful."
Ultimately, "for Heidegger, being in the moment is facing death ÇƒÓ you make your choices more seriously" then, Davis said.
On a separate tack, Davis noted that, contrary to popular thinking, Heidegger was not "against technology."
Granted, "he
lived in a hut. He was like a Luddite," but "he was neither for nor
against technology. For Heidegger, itës whatës behind these tools we
use" that concerned him.
"What is the
essence of technology?" was a key question Heidegger asked, Davis said.
"Itës enframing ÇƒÓ a way of living. It devours us ... There are some
dangers of technology ÇƒÓ if you have an instrumental way of looking at
things, everthing becomes subjects or objects," resulting in an
attitude that "other people are in my way," he said. "A problem with
technological thinking is that it tends to devour other ways of
thinking."
Heidegger also
believed that "technology changes everything," Davis noted. For
instance, with a technological view, a field might be seen as a form of
agricultural production and a stream as a form of hydro-electric
production.
Ethics and
politics are not as important as ontology, in Heideggerës view,
according to Davis. "To say that," he added, "is a pivotal statement."
Thus, Heideggerës philosophy of being "is to totalize everything," Davis said. "Things only have being so far as they are."
Davis said Heideggerës philosophy on being results in the following:
ï It displaces an egocentric worldview and problem.
ï It rejects the fact-value distinction ÇƒÓ "theyëre not two separate things. Itës how they merge."
ï It supports non-instrumental thinking ÇƒÓ not calculating.
An audience
discussion and question-and-answer period followed Davisë talk, during
which the professor was asked who Heidegger went to for advice on his
thoughts.
"As abstract as
they (his thoughts) were, he talked to farmers and woodworkers," Davis
replied. "He rarely talked to fellow academics. He revered simplicity."
An unidentified
man said, "Heidegger seems to offer a great bundle of slippery
abstractions. How are we better off knowing his concepts?"
"It might not
be" that the questioner is better off knowing Heideggerës ideas, Davis
answered, adding that "itës ironic that your question is instrumental
and forces me to think instrumentally.
"I think weëll
live better lives if we see ourselves as seeking meaning. ǃÚHow could we
live better?ë By not thinking of things exclusively instrumentally,
egocentrically... Curiously, I get calls from nursing schools to come
talk about Heidegger. Itës about care ... Avoid subject-object
relations ... Some nurses and psychiatrists seem to find value in
Heidegger."
In his closing
remarks, Davis said, "I grew up in a ghetto in Indianapolis ... I think
a reason Iëm attracted to Heidegger is because" his work ÇƒÓ on an
abstract level ÇƒÓ synchronizes with the street-style greetings there.
The professor said a typical greeting there was: "What it be like?" and the answer was: "What it is!"
He added, "These
people werenët reading Heidegger. I think thereës a
non-intellectualized connectedness ÇƒÓ a non-egocentric way of looking at
the world" that the residents of Davisë old neighborhood share with the
German philosopher.
Davis drew applause from the audience when he smiled and said, "I appreciate your putting up with this abstract reflection." |
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