Heidegger and Subjectivism
So, Heidegger denies the subject, wants to talk abou Dasein, and let that stand for the being that is within the question of being.
Alright, fine, but it seems that the critique by folks like Derrida is accurate, Heidegger himself speaks of the mortals as a seperate group in the fourfold, and makes a clear statement about there being an abyss between human beings, and other beings.
Is he therefore caught up in the subject? How can we, following his train of thought of avoiding subjectism, extent this realm? Should I be extending it towards animals, perhaps....plants....getting harder to see.....rocks....umm.....
See, when we speak of Dasein, we are creating an inherently valued being; valued insofar as the being is morally responsible for actions, and one must treat the being ethically as being. So, Heidegger seems to want both, for humans to be those beings morally responsible, morally free and for the humans to treat the natural world in such a way that it is also worthy of standing on equal ground, thereby naming it as a valued being in our ethical relations. It seems to me that we need to expand this or narrow this, and as I certainly don't find it satisfying or even accurate to narrow the scope on the "who to be ethical towards" end, it seems that we need to be open to other beings, other Dasein, to have moral agency.
So Dogs and Cats, daseins perhaps? Dolphins, Monkeys, hmmm. We may never know if these are beings capable of authenticity, but it seems to rescue the Heideggerian approach something has to give here. I might be quick to argue that dasein is limited towards organic or living creatures, so as not ot worry 'bout the sentiency of rocks.
Of course, Daoists with their daoist 'fall' seem to alleviate this problem in their own right, and perhaps what Heidegger needs to offer is something similar of his own.

0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home