Heidegger for the Rest of Us

I’ve been surveying Heidegger in order to get a better handle on the contemporary Roman Catholic scene and came across this interesting section by Michael Inwood in his Heidegger: A Very Short Introduction.  As one who shaves his head out of genetic defiance, this struck me with a “special” significance.

I may become bald, through no choice of my own and with no possibility of regrowing my hair.  Most human beings have a certain bodily, biological structure which differs markedly from that of other creatures and they have only limited possibilities of altering it.  Some philosophers have located man’s distinctive nature in rationality, defining man as a rational animal.  Heidegger does not of course argue that Dasein can become whatever it wants.  Circumstances place restrictions on what I can do: ‘Existentiality is always determined by facticity.’ (Being and Time, 192).  But my circumstances and my condition are never simply ‘present-at-hand-properties’: I can always respond to them in various ways.  If I become bald, I may refuse to accept that I am bald, continuing to insist that I have a full head of hair; I may wallow in my baldness, and let it drive me to despair; I may wear a wig; I may simply ignore it; or I may gladly accept my baldness, flaunt it, and perhaps make it the basis of a successful career as a lover or an actor.  Which option I take is not determined solely by my baldness, but is freely chosen by me.

I’m not suggesting this type of thinking is reformed.  I’ll let you determine how much of this complies with Christianity!  Regardless, Heidegger gives something for us human beings to think about.