HEIDEGGER & EXISTENTIALISM

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

What is the meaning of Being?  It is the simplest of questions and the most fundamental.  Everything that is, is being, is in being—with every little “am” or “is” or “are,” every noun, proper or not … we can hardly speak without invoking being—hence, this seemingly innocuous question is universally relevant for anyone and everyone who can ask the question.  We talk infinitely about beings, and even occasionally intelligently about the meaning of this or that particular being, or what these beings are being for, but why don’t we stop and ponder the most fundamental heart of the meaning of Being in and of itself for a being?  In his frontspiece to Being and Time, Heidegger quotes Plato’s Sophist on how we always use the word “being,” but now find ourselves perplexed about its meaning.  Perplexity, for Socrates and Plato, signified the beginning of knowledge, the primordial impulse to philosophy.  But, Heidegger sadly asks, “Do we in our time have an answer to the question of what we really mean by the word ‘being’?  Not at all” (B&T, 1).  That, then, was his books’ aim and will be ours, too, this semester.

In 1927, Martin Heidegger published his monumental Being and Time—a masterpiece, no matter that it was but one in part (for it is comprised of only two thirds of his intended project), yet this incomplete work was momentous and changed the course of contemporary philosophy.  He took up Edmund Husserl’s (his teacher’s) radical method of phenomenology, employed it to ask the most fundamental question (what is Being?), laid the ground for existentialism, and set the agenda for many coming generations of philosophers.  His later writings shift from a fundamental phenomenological ontology to thinking, to a thoughtfully attuned meandering of the mind as if along country paths, to a poeticism that critiques technology, intonates mysticism, embraces Taoist and Buddhist impulses, reveals the intimacy of being in and by language, and the role of dwelling as our mode of being in the world.

We will begin our semester with a careful, rigorous reading of Being and Time, and then end our time together reading selections from his later writings.  Our careful exploration and analysis of his work, however, must be done from a deeply affected disposition.  We must feel his work, as much as we test our mental capacities for reasoning and comprehension.  One of his students wrote that: “One cannot read Heidegger without a kind of drunkenness, that particular drunkenness which German philosophical wines of the best vintage give” (Jean Wahl, “Existentialism: A Preface,” New Republic (1945)).  We must become drunk on his ideas and give ourselves over to perplexity, wonder, anxiety, inquisitiveness, and abiding concern.  We must delight and celebrate ideas.  “Celebration,” Heidegger writes, “is self-restraint, is attentiveness, is questioning, is meditating, is awaiting, is the step over into the more wakeful glimpse of the wonder—the wonder that a world is worlding all around us at all, that there are beings rather than nothing, that things are and we ourselves are in their midst, that we ourselves are and yet barely know who we are, and barely know that we do not know all this” (Heidegger, Hölderlins Hymne “Andenken,” GA52, 64).  This is what we must do.

I.  COURSE READINGS:

Martin Heidegger, Being and Time, trans. Joan Stambaugh (NY: State University of New York Press, 2010), isbn: 1438432763, price: $18.95.  (The Macquarrie/Robinson translation is an interesting supplement, but Stambaugh’s will be our primary read for class and required for all.)

Martin Heidegger, Basic Writings: Ten Key Essays, plus the Introduction to Being and Time, ed. David Farrell Krell (NY: Harper Perennial Modern Collins, 2008), isbn: 0061627011, price: $15.95.

II.  COURSE GOAL and OBJECTIVES:

The goal of this class is to prompt extended considerations on the philosophical foundations of contemporary Continental philosophy, especially existentialism, and its ties back to the full canon of philosophy, by carefully reading Heidegger’s magnum opus Being and Time and selections of his later writings.  Our persistent tasks will involve the active encouragement of careful reading and close consideration of challenging ideas, deep reflection thereupon, and rigorous argumentation of textual analysis and personal readings of these ideas.  These tasks will aid the refinement of critical reading and thinking skills, as well as broadening intellectual perspectives and fostering greater theoretical and social literacy in and beyond philosophy.  These tasks invoke both skills and art forms that will better an individual regardless of his or her academic concentration and future career path.  This goal will be pursued in the following ways:

Engagement in close textual analyses of the reading assignments in order to foster critical thinking skills, which ultimately develop one’s own thinking and writing abilities and styles.

Attention directed to the lectures and discussions, which will provide the historical situation, theoretical background, and clarification of issues to frame and guide one’s own thinking.

Participation in class discussions that embrace academic freedom in order to practice formulating and expressing your questions, ideas, and interpretations of the issues at hand.

Creative reflection on the form and content of the course material by crafting oral and written responses.

III.  COURSE POLICIES and REQUIREMENTS:

ATTENDANCE:

Attendance is strongly encouraged.  If you do not come to classes it will be very difficult for you to achieve the same academic progress as your classmates, which will make it all the more difficult for you to successfully present, write high-quality academic papers, and be able to positively contribute overall to the class.  Since these are the main grade determinants, it makes very good sense for you to come to all classes.  If a class is missed, one is still responsible for the material due and covered that day.  Please notify me in the case of excusable absences.  According to University policy, any student missing three times the number of class meetings per week or more (i.e., for us, six or more classes), including otherwise “excused” absences except for “Provost Excuses,” must automatically and immediately receive the “FN” grade, even if before the end of the semester.  Each student is fully responsible for verifying and correcting, if necessary, his/her registration status.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Presentation:  Each will be responsible for guiding one class’ analysis and discussion of a given reading, wherein responsibilities will include careful reading of the assignment, a development of its basic outline, a presentation explaining its critical points, and construction and proposing of guiding questions to launch class discussion. 

Textual Analyses: And, writing three short textual analysis papers (roughly two pages each) that select a small, intriguing passage from the readings, contextualize the issue it broaches, conduct a careful textual analysis of the passage, and conclude with a statement of the importance of the selected passage.  Further information will be provided in class.

Final Paper:  And, a more comprehensive, topical final paper (roughly five to ten pages), which can follow an assigned prompt or be on a topic of one’s own creation; it can work within a text alone, across readings, or comparisons of readings beyond Heidegger. 

EXTRA CREDIT ASSIGNMENTS:

1) Attend any of the selected Humanities Symposium events (for the full time and with your full, courteous attention) announced in class, and submit a substantive one page reflection that includes a description of the event and your philosophical reflection upon it.

2)  Read one of the following selections and write a three page analysis including (1) a summary of content, (2) a delineation of its main argument(s), and (3) a close evaluation of philosophical meaning.

 Lin Ma, “Deciphering Heidegger’s Connection with the Daodejing,” Asian Philosophy 16, 3 (2006): 149-71 (select the first link from this page: http://www.beyng.com/hlinks/hasia.html).

 John Steffney, “Transmetaphysical Thinking in Heidegger and Zen Buddhism,” Philosophy East & West 27, 3 (1977): 323-335 (http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-PHIL/ew96640.htm).

 Edmund Husserl, Part 1, Philosophy and the Crisis of European Man (http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/husserl_philcris.html).

 Theodor Adorno & Max Horkheimer, Ch. 1, The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/adorno/1944/culture-industry.htm).

 Simone de Beauvoir’s The Ethics of Ambiguity, Pt. I “Ambiguity and Freedom” (http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/ambiguity/ch01.htm), or Pt. II “Personal Freedom and Others” (http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/ambiguity/ch02.htm), or Pt. III, §2 “Freedom and Liberation” (http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/ethics/de-beauvoir/ambiguity/index.htm).

Jean Paul Sartre, “The Wall” (http://chabrieres.pagesperso-orange.fr/texts/sartre_thewall.html) or “Existentialism is a Humanism” (https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/sartre/works/exist/sartre.htm).

 Søren Kierkegaard, “Introduction,” The Concept of Dread (http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/dk/kierkega.htm).

 Miguel de Unamuno, Ch. XI, “The Practical Problem,” Tragic Sense of Life (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14636/14636-h/14636-h.htm).

 G. W. F. Hegel’s “Lordship & Bondage,” Phenomenology of Spirit (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/index.htm).

Friedrich Nietzsche, Ch.II “Free Spirit,” Beyond Good & Evil (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/nietzsche/1886/beyond-good-evil/ch02.htm).

Charles Darwin, Ch. III “Struggle for Existence,” Origin of Species (http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/darwin/works/origins/ch03.htm).

Franz Fanon, “Reciprocal Bases of National Culture and the Fight for Freedom,” Wretched of the Earth (http://www.marxists.org/subject/africa/fanon/national-culture.htm).

3)  Select and watch one of the following films and write a three page analysis including (1) a plot summary highlighting philosophically relevant details and (2) your thorough aesthetic and theoretical evaluation.  If you are sensitive to adult content, please consult summaries or reviews before viewing and/or ask me for recommendations.

Igmar Bergman’s “The Seventh Seal” (1957), “Wild Strawberries” (1957), “Through a Glass Darkly” (1961), “Winter Light” (1963), “The Silence” (1963), or “Persona” (1966).

Wim Wender’s “Wings of Desire,” (German, 1987).

Hiroshi Teshigahara’s “Face of Another,” (Japanese, 1952).

Gabriel Axel’s “Babette’s Feast” (Danish, 1987).

Akira Kurosawa’s “Ikiru” (Japanese, 1952).

Khyentse Norbu’s “Travellers and Magicians” (Bhutanese, 2003).

Robert Bresson’s “Diary of a Country Priest” (French, 1951).

Chris Marker’s “La Jetée” (French, 1962).

Peter Howitt’s “Sliding Doors,” (British, 1998).

Hitchcock’s “Rope” (American, 1948), “Rear Window” (1954).

Woody Allen’s “Sleeper” (American, 1973), “Interiors” (1978), “Zelig” (1983), “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989), “Alice” (1990), “Melinda and Melinda” (2004), “Midnight in Paris” (2011).

Michael Haneke’s “Time of the Wolf” (German director, but the film’s subtitled from French, 2003).

Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Mother Küsters goes to Heaven” (German, 1985).

Coen Brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” (American, 2007).

David Cronenberg’s “Spider” (Canadian, 2002) or “A History of Violence” (2005).

Marc Erlbaum’s “Café” (American, 2010).

Harmony Korine’s “Mister Lonely” (American, 2007).

David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” (American, 1997), “Mulholland Dr.” (2001), “Inland Empire” (2006).

Werner Herzog’s “The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser” (German, 1974).

If more extra credit assignments are desired, please see me (i.e., there is no maximum cap on the number of extra credit assignments you may complete).

GRADE DISTRIBUTION:

Attendance and Participation: 20% of your final grade.  Presentation: 20%.  Textual Analyses: 30% (10% each).  Final Paper: 30%.  Each extra credit opportunity completed successfully will be worth up to five points added to your lowest scoring assignment.

GRADE SCALE:

All assignments will receive an alphabetic and/or numeric grade based upon their demonstrated quality of thought and effort.  The scale will be: A (100-94); A- (93-90); B+ (89-87); B (86-83); B- (82-80); C+ (79-77); C (76-73); C- (72-70); D+ (69-67); D (66-63); D- (62-60); F (59-0).  Any grade disputes will be settled by personal meeting where we will review together the totality of your class work. 

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

Attendance and Participation will be evaluated by broad definition of active engagement: attendance requiring both one’s mind and body, so that sleeping or texting, etc., in class will be considered nonattendance and, beyond verbal communication, participation includes your having and making class use of the texts, taking notes, the active attention to lecture and discussion, respectful listening, peer and small group conversation, discussion and email communication with me, and the incorporation of discussed ideas into your written work.

Presentations will be evaluated on energy and effort of the presenter, clarity and correctness of the outline, and thoughtfulness of the analysis and reflection on the material and of the guide questions.

Academic Papers (Textual Analyses and Final Paper) will be evaluated by their quality of content (i.e., your analyses clearly select a passage, contextualize its import and subject it to thoughtful textual analysis, and your papers present coherent theses supported with several arguments that amply utilize the primary texts) and quality of writing (i.e., you must have grammatically correct work).

Late Work will only be accepted if a request for a brief extension is made and granted in advance of the deadlines.  Inordinately late work will receive a penalty of up to ten points.

PRINT and ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTS and NOTES:

Optional readings will be provided through our course Blackboard site and, if possible, linked to on our external class website at: www.aquestionofexistence.com, under the “Heidegger” tab.  In addition, while their consultation is not required, helpful summations of course lectures and additional materials both directly related and tangential to course material will be provided at that external class website. 

Other recommended electronic resources include:

The “Ereignis” website, which collects articles on Heidegger, etc.: http://www.beyng.com

Overview of Heidegger and his work: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/heidegger/

Simon Critchley’s Blog on Heidegger’s Being and Time in the Guardian: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2009/jun/05/heidegger-philosophy

A Glossary of Terms in Being and Time (although, read the Translator’s Preface in our translation for guidance, too): http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/b_resources/b_and_t_glossary.html

Helpful Print Commentaries and Scholarship:

Richard Polt, Heidegger: an Introduction (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999).—Short context on Heidegger, bulk on textual analysis of B&T, end on H.’s later writings.

Stephen Mulhall, Heidegger and Being and Time (London: Routledge, 2005).—Author’s emphasis is on the role of authenticity and makes B&T’s aim pedagogic (to inspire authenticity in the philosopher).

Michael Gelven, A Commentary on Heidegger’s Being and Time (De Kalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press, 1989).—Relies on the Macquarrie/Robinson translation, but an old, classic commentary.

Richard Schmitt, Martin Heidegger on Being Human (New York: Random House, 1969).—Relies on the Macquarrie/Robinson translation, but an old, classic commentary.

Charles Guignon, Heidegger and the Problem of Knowledge (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co., 1983).—Relies on the Macquarrie/Robinson translation, but an old, classic commentary.

Hubert Dreyfus, Being-in-the-World: A Commentary on Being and Time, Div. I (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1991).—Relies on the Macquarrie/Robinson translation, but an old, classic commentary.

John Tietz, An Outline and Study Guide to Martin Heidegger’s Being and Time (Frankfurt am Main: Humanities Online, 2001).—Available as .pdf file at: https://ssl.humanities-online.de/download/Tietz_Heidegger_ccl.pdf.

Mark Wrathall, How to Read Heidegger (New York: W. W. Norton, 2005).—Very simple, short book that allows for a general, easy-reading overview of important ideas, but only a quick orientation, not rigorous analysis; first six chapters concern B&T, last four on his later writings.

Joan Stambaugh, Thoughts on Heidegger (Washington D.C.: Center for Advanced Research in Phenomenology and University Press of America, 1991).—Part I on B&T, rest comparisons with Western and Eastern thinkers, and topical considerations.

Otto Pöggeler, Martin Heidegger’s Path of Thinking, trans. Daniel Magurshak and Sigmund Barber (Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, Inc., 1963).—Focus on metaphysics’ relation to ontology, phenomenology, history, & its overcoming; last 3 chapters on topics of language key for H.’s later writings.

IV)  UNIVERSITY POLICIES:

Honor Code:

The Belmont community values personal integrity and academic honesty as the foundation of university life and the cornerstone of a premiere educational experience.  Our community believes trust among its members is essential for both scholarship and effective interactions and operations of the university.  As members of the Belmont community, students, faculty, staff, and administrators are all responsible for ensuring that their experiences will be free of behaviors which compromise this value.  In order to uphold academic integrity, the university has adopted an Honor System.  Students and faculty will work together to establish the optimal conditions for honorable academic work.  Following is the Student Honor Pledge that guides academic behavior:

I will not give or receive aid during examinations; I will not give or receive false or impermissible aid in course work, in the preparation of reports, or in any other type of work that is to be used by the instructor as the basis of my grade; I will not engage in any form of academic fraud.  Furthermore, I will uphold my responsibility to see to it that others abide by the spirit and letter of this Honor Pledge (Handbook).

Thus, I have a zero-tolerance policy for academic dishonesty and especially for any form of plagiarism.  Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to, the summary, paraphrase, or direct quotation of either published or unpublished work of another without full and clear citation.  Consequences for academic dishonesty will result in a zero score on the assignment and possible further repercussions in accordance with school policy.  If you have questions about plagiarism or academic honesty in general, please consult the school handbook, one’s academic advisor, or me. 

Accommodation of Disabilities:

In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Belmont University will provide reasonable accommodation of all medically documented disabilities.  If you have a disability and would like the university to provide reasonable accommodations of the disability during this course, please notify the Office of the Dean of Students located in Beaman Student Life Center (615-460-6407) as soon as possible.

Course Evaluations:

The university urges and expects all students to participate in all course evaluations, providing honest feedback to the instructor and institution about the specific aspects and elements of the course. 

Outside of the official evaluations, I highly encourage you to provide me with feedback throughout the semester about the course and to collectively or privately engage in such dialogue so as to take an active engagement with the “how” of your education, as well as with the “what” that we cover. 

Etcetera:

Please respect the purpose of the class and the lesson of its content by refraining from the use of (and distraction by) cell phones and other digital devices. 

I highly encourage you to email, come to office hours, and/or set up an appointment with me about any questions, concerns, etc. about the class and its material. 

I will ask us all to uphold the ideals of academic freedom to make our classroom a space of comfortable and free discourse, which means feeling free to openly entertain and exchange even uncomfortable ideas and maintaining an environment where others enjoy the same freedom by respecting the rights of all to speak and listen. 

This syllabus is subject to change, typically based upon student feedback to speed up or slow down readings and extend length of discussions, and all such requests will be honored as much as the time allows; any changes will be announced in class and amended online.

V)  READING AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE:

Perplexity & Phenomenology

August

Thurs. 21Course Introduction

Tues. 26 Heidegger’s Being and Time, Frontspiece and Introduction, Ch. 1         Last day (before 11 p.m.) to drop w/  refund

Thurs. 28 Heidegger’s Being and Time, Introduction, Ch. 2

Da-sein & Being-in-the-World

September        

Tues.  2Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 1

Thurs. 4Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 2…… First Paper Due*

* -papers may be submitted before midnight, if class discussion may help finalize analysis.

Worldliness of the World

Tues. 9Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 3, §§14-18 (stop before “B. Contrast …”)

Thurs. 11Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 3, §§22-24

The They

Tues. 16Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 4         last day (by 11 p.m.) to withdraw w/ “W”

Thurs. 18Continue Tuesday’s reading

Being-In as Such

Tues. 23Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 5, §§28-33 (attunement & understanding)

Thurs. 25 Heidegger’s Being and Time, Pt.1, D.1, Ch. 5, §§34-38 (discourse & entanglement)…... ... ... ... ... ... …Second Paper Due*

Angst & Care

Tues. 30Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 6, §§39-42 (angst & myth of Care)

October

Thurs. 2Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. One, Ch. 6, §44 (disclosedness & truth)

Being-Towards-Death

Tues. 7 Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. Two, §45 and Ch. 1

Thurs. 9 Continue Tuesday’s reading

Authenticity & the Call of Conscience

Tues. 14No Class — Mid-Fall Break (13th -14th)

Thurs. 16Heidegger’s Being and Time, Part One, Div. Two, Ch. 2

Philosophy Ends / Thinking Begins

Tues. 21Heidegger’s Basic Writings, Main Reading: “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking;”

Supplements: “The Origin of the Work of Art,” on Aletheia and the Clearing, pp.176-82, and “What is Metaphysics?,” on the Nothing and anxiety, in full.

Thurs. 23Continue Tuesday’s reading

Tues. 28Continue Tuesday’s reading

Thurs. 30Continue Tuesday’s Reading…………………… Third Paper Due*

Dwelling

November

Tues. 4Heidegger’s Basic Writings, “Building, Dwelling, Thinking”

Thurs. 6Continue Tuesday’s Reading

Thinking

Tues. 11Heidegger’s Basic Writings, “What Calls for Thinking?”

Thurs. 13Continue Tuesday’s Reading

Language

Tues. 18Heidegger’s Basic Writings, “The Way to Language”

Thurs. 20 Continue Tuesday’s Reading

Tues. 25Continue Tuesday’s Reading

Thurs. 27No Class –Thanksgiving Break (26th – 28th)

December

Tues. Dec. 2 Last Class – ‘Final Thoughts’ Discussion

Final Exam: Thursday, December 4th at 2-4 p.m., in our regular classroom ……………………… Final Paper Due