Dasein

Cypress

"Cypress you motherfucking whore!"
Dasein is our sense of being in the world. In one sense, this “being” is the place, time, and headspace you are in right now. It is the “thrownness” of who you are. You have been thrown into the 21st Century, in a certain country, with a certain body, and with certain values.

But, more importantly, being and Dasein are defined more by your becoming. You are defined not by where you are now, but by where you are going. Your life is given meaning by what you are called to do.

And called by whom? By God? By your parents? By societal expectations? By your boss? No, Dasein is what you call yourself to do.

As far as I know, Heidegger was not intending to offend Newtonian physics nor invite some time-travel paradox. He did not imagine some future version of you was pulling the fatalistic string of you. But, in a way, in some imagined future, you act as the target at which you aim. Dasein is the setting of a goal and walking towards it. Everything I do is, as Heidegger puts it, “for-the-sake-of” Dasein. I play with my kids and kiss them goodnight for the sake of being a father. I put on my sports shoes and get a sweat on, for the sake of being a runner. I put on a tie, carry a business card, and talk in anodyne pleasantries for the sake of being a lawyer.

For Heidegger, at least, there is nothing inauthentic about a role or about playing a game. So long as it’s the game you’ve chosen.
 
We make choices every moment in life

We may wish we had other choices

But if those choices are just not available we make the best choice at that moment in THOSE circumstances



The best choice in our assessment


In hopes of opening up more choices in the future


We don’t start out in life with the same set or number of choices
 
We make choices every moment in life

We may wish we had other choices

But if those choices are just not available we make the best choice at that moment in THOSE circumstances



The best choice in our assessment


In hopes of opening up more choices in the future


We don’t start out in life with the same set or number of choices

I liked the idea that life is given meaning by where we are going, not where we are now.
 
I liked the idea that life is given meaning by where we are going, not where we are now.

Your best choices are more effective and productive if you can understand how to just be there

Observing the actual world in any given moment


There are times I just concentrate on just being there


Just being present in the physical world that exists



It centers the brain on the true reality unobscured by surrounding perceptions of those around me



It’s very cathartic


There is an old Peter Sellers comedy called “being there”


I’m going to have to rewatch that one
 
Your best choices are more effective and productive if you can understand how to just be there

Observing the actual world in any given moment


There are times I just concentrate on just being there


Just being present in the physical world that exists



It centers the brain on the true reality unobscured by surrounding perceptions of those around me



It’s very cathartic


There is an old Peter Sellers comedy called “being there”


I’m going to have to rewatch that one

That's very Daoist to just exist in the moment.

A lot to be said for that.

The thing I like about Heidegger's Dasein is that there is a self-actualization, a calling, a 'becoming', a future self that is the threshold or model to shoot for
 
Dasein is our sense of being in the world. In one sense, this “being” is the place, time, and headspace you are in right now. It is the “thrownness” of who you are. You have been thrown into the 21st Century, in a certain country, with a certain body, and with certain values.

But, more importantly, being and Dasein are defined more by your becoming. You are defined not by where you are now, but by where you are going. Your life is given meaning by what you are called to do.

And called by whom? By God? By your parents? By societal expectations? By your boss? No, Dasein is what you call yourself to do.

As far as I know, Heidegger was not intending to offend Newtonian physics nor invite some time-travel paradox. He did not imagine some future version of you was pulling the fatalistic string of you. But, in a way, in some imagined future, you act as the target at which you aim. Dasein is the setting of a goal and walking towards it. Everything I do is, as Heidegger puts it, “for-the-sake-of” Dasein. I play with my kids and kiss them goodnight for the sake of being a father. I put on my sports shoes and get a sweat on, for the sake of being a runner. I put on a tie, carry a business card, and talk in anodyne pleasantries for the sake of being a lawyer.

For Heidegger, at least, there is nothing inauthentic about a role or about playing a game. So long as it’s the game you’ve chosen.

This is brilliance IT IS WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELF TO DO. I know the outward presentation of myself was not 'me'. What WAS me was the guidelines and principles by which I played that role. It's a fascinating discussion, but very few people are comfortable in having it, because it acknowledges some truths about life and about themselves that they aren't willing to accept. I had the ability to very quickly and very accurately read a room when I was in business. How I USED that skill is more about what I am calling myself to do. Love this type of thought exercise.
 
This is brilliance IT IS WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELF TO DO. I know the outward presentation of myself was not 'me'. What WAS me was the guidelines and principles by which I played that role. It's a fascinating discussion, but very few people are comfortable in having it, because it acknowledges some truths about life and about themselves that they aren't willing to accept. I had the ability to very quickly and very accurately read a room when I was in business. How I USED that skill is more about what I am calling myself to do. Love this type of thought exercise.

I thought it was chock full of good insights about the performances and roles some might feel obligated to play at work, school, church, whatever, and about cultivating authenticity.
 
Dasein is our sense of being in the world. In one sense, this “being” is the place, time, and headspace you are in right now. It is the “thrownness” of who you are. You have been thrown into the 21st Century, in a certain country, with a certain body, and with certain values.

But, more importantly, being and Dasein are defined more by your becoming. You are defined not by where you are now, but by where you are going. Your life is given meaning by what you are called to do.

And called by whom? By God? By your parents? By societal expectations? By your boss? No, Dasein is what you call yourself to do.

As far as I know, Heidegger was not intending to offend Newtonian physics nor invite some time-travel paradox. He did not imagine some future version of you was pulling the fatalistic string of you. But, in a way, in some imagined future, you act as the target at which you aim. Dasein is the setting of a goal and walking towards it. Everything I do is, as Heidegger puts it, “for-the-sake-of” Dasein. I play with my kids and kiss them goodnight for the sake of being a father. I put on my sports shoes and get a sweat on, for the sake of being a runner. I put on a tie, carry a business card, and talk in anodyne pleasantries for the sake of being a lawyer.

For Heidegger, at least, there is nothing inauthentic about a role or about playing a game. So long as it’s the game you’ve chosen.

Pretty good assessment of Heidegger.
 
I'm going to have to investigate him more

Heidegger is worth reading. But he makes up a lot of words, which is easier to do in German than English.
And he tends to talk a lot about what he is saying, for example:

� 2. The Formal Structure of the Question of Being
The question of the meaning of Being must be formulated. If it is a
fundamental question, or indeed the fundamental question, it must be
made transparent, and in an appropriate way. 1 We must therefore
explain briefly what belongs to any question whatsoever, so that from this
standpoint the question of Being can be made visible as a very special one
with its own distinctive character.

http://pdf-objects.com/files/Heideg...trans.-Macquarrie-Robinson-Blackwell-1962.pdf
 
Heidegger assumes you know ancient Greek. His translations are not trustworthy because they are slanted to what he wants it to mean.
 
Heidegger is worth reading. But he makes up a lot of words, which is easier to do in German than English.
And he tends to talk a lot about what he is saying, for example:

� 2. The Formal Structure of the Question of Being
The question of the meaning of Being must be formulated. If it is a
fundamental question, or indeed the fundamental question, it must be
made transparent, and in an appropriate way. 1 We must therefore
explain briefly what belongs to any question whatsoever, so that from this
standpoint the question of Being can be made visible as a very special one
with its own distinctive character.

http://pdf-objects.com/files/Heideg...trans.-Macquarrie-Robinson-Blackwell-1962.pdf

I've heard Heidegger is a tough read.
 
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