Time, Space and Existence

We are not what we do, in the same way that we aren't our circumstances. We are so much more than our race, nationality, political affiliation, religion and social status. Some of these things are mere "accidents of nature" and others "social made accidents". It is true that what we do "does us" and also "makes" us in return.

This is to say, we are who we are because of the lives we live and the actions we have taken. Object and subject are destined to interact. This is unavoidable.

Heidegger's almost esoteric ontological proposal - Dasein, or "being-in-the-world." - is almost impossible to refute, at least if considered at its most basic: we are all beings in time and beings in space. When expressed in such a way, with words that lack emotion and humanity, it is understandable that one wants to dismiss this philosophical proposal. But despite the fact that Heidegger, alongside Kirkeggard, is an important foundation of what was subsequently described as existentialist philosophy, with all the clichés that this entails, Heidegger's philosophy is in fact edifying and positive. In his proposal,

Heidegger introduces the idea of thrownness (Geworfenheit), which refers to the arbitrary conditions into which we are born. We do not choose our circumstances, but we must navigate them. Authenticity, for Heidegger, involves acknowledging and embracing our thrownness, making conscious choices that reflect our true selves rather than conforming to societal expectations. This idea embodies the individualistic spirit of the 20th century which continues today. Authenticity is at the core of Camus' and Sartre's work.

Another important Heideggerian idea is that as humans, we are being-towards-death (Sein-zum-Tode). Heidegger argues that to be authentic involves being constantly reminded of our finite existence, of our mortality. The pay off for this rather morbid state of mind is that being aware of our mortality at all times, like those Romantic poets and their memento mori signet rings, is that we might be compelled to live more meaningful lives.

We are what we are as a consequence of what we do and also on the basis of circumstance. These conditions define us but should not imprison us. We must acknowledge our circumstances and realise that we are simultaneously be defined by them and obliged to trascend them.

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