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.
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.