The Hedieggerian Concept of Dasein and its ontological Modality: Das Man

• Published in: Horizon. Fenomenologičeskie issledovanija Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 45 - 60
• Main Authors: Małecka, Anna, Mróz, Piotr
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: St. Petersburg State University Publishing House 2021; Издательство Санкт-Петербургского государственного университета
• Subjects: Ethics / Practical Philosophy; History of Philosophy; Philosophical Traditions; beingintheworld; hermeneutics; Being qua Being; existentialism; existence; authenticity versus inauthenticity; depersonalization
• ISSN: 2226-5260; 2311-6986

The paper presents a non-standard interpretation of the celebrated Heideggerian existential das Man in terms of its oft-underrated unity with Dasein—an entity of a special ontic-ontological prerogative.The present authors intend to highlight this essential theme in terms of the specific unity of Dasein being-in-the world, covering many subsequent and adjacent existentials in the analytics of the Heideggerian existential hermeneutics, especially Mitsein/Mitdasein. Dasein’s existence-essence is based on the structure of possibilities, and hence free, spontaneous choices, while Das Man is a concrete choice of a certain modus of existence rendering—as it were—all other modi invalid and non-operational.Although Heidegger is far from taking up an ethical or moral stance in its traditional understanding,he is quite adamant that the phenomenon of das Man invalidates a truly human project of existing one’sown possibilities—to wit—be oneself (Jemeines).