In our study, we do not just demonstrate that the analysis of Dasein, in the philosophical project of the first Heidegger was necessary and prior to the understanding of the question of the meaning of being, but also we explained, in the other section of our research that the philosophical project of the second Heidegger regarding the question of the meaning of being intended to demonstrate that there is a relationship between Dasein and God, a relationship which connects the question of the meaning of being not just to the truth of being, through das Ereignis but also to the event of the poetic God, in the light of the being-Die Lichtung des Seins. This new understanding of the development of the philosophy of Martin Heidegger offers a possibility to systematize the relationship between philosophy and theology in the thinking of Martin Heidegger. On one hand, we explained that no one can deny the theological origin of Martin Heidegger and his theological affiliations. On the other hand, we also showed how throughout his life, Heidegger reacted against a theology that is too philosophically influenced and wanted to make clear that his thinking should be either theistic or atheistic and never both at the same time. It has to be a discourse about God which is not the return to the old onto-theology but it requires that one constructs a more poetic discourse about God and attempts to interpret the divine and the sacred not as God as such but as names that one uses to refer to God.
This poetic discourse, however, has some relevancies in a Christian tradition, especially if one looks at the concept of revelation of the undescribed Last God which is close to the understanding of revelation in the Christian tradition.
The second part of our study tried to ask the question of being but in a new perspective, according to the method of transcendental philosophy. We have emphasized how indeed, there is a link between the existential phenomenology of Martin Heidegger and the research in neo-scholastic ( Joseph Maréchal, J.B. Lotz, K. Rahner and Emerich Coreth, Otto Muck, all Jesuits Fathers) thought about the question of being as the foundation of beings, as the foundation of what is there. It is a sort of a further development of the ontology of Heidegger in the perspective of Christian philosophy and theology.
Table of Contents
PREFACE
O. GENERAL INTRODUCTION
O.1. Motivation, Narrative: Ein Denkenweg
O.2. Grundlegende Frage :Die Frage nach dem Sinn von Sein
O.3. Problemstellung and articulation
Part I. THE EXISTENTIAL ONTOLOGY OF MARTIN HEIDEGGER
CHAP I: Die Ausarbeitung der Seinsfrage- Die Methode der Untersuchung
I.O. Introduction
I.1. Zu Leben und Werk Heideggers
I.2.The Fundamental Ontology of Dasein
I.3. From Metaphysics to Dasein
I.4. The Priority of Dasein
I.5. Ontic or ontology ?
I.6. The ontology of Dasein
I.7. Die Hermeneutische Methode der Untersuchung: Das Existenzielle Verständnis
I.8. Die phänomenologische Methode der Untersuchung
I.9. Die existentialische Methode der Untersuchung
I.10. The fundamental ontology of Dasein as preparatory to the general ontology
I.11. Interpretation and Understanding of Dasein
I.12.CONCLUSION
Chap II. The Analysis of Dasein
II.0. Introduction
II. 1. The Definition of Dasein
II.2. Dasein and the World (Weltlichkeit)
II.3. Dasein-Mitdasein und Fürsorge
II.4. Dasein with Objects (Dingen)
II.5. The “thrownness”, the there-of Dasein (Geworfenheit)
II.6. Der Angst und Das Worum
II.7. Geworfenheit- Authentizität- Faktizität -Möglichkeit
II.8. Geworfenheit- Alltäglichkeit- Öffentlichkeit- Zeitlichkeit
II.9. Geworfenheit- Möglichkeit- Seinkönnen-Endlichkeit
II.10. Die Endlichkeit des Daseins
II.11. Dasein und Zeitlichkeit
II.11.1. Der Tod als Das Ende des In-der-Welt-seins
II.11.2. Dasein als Sein Zum Tode
II.11.3. Die Zeitlichkeit
II.11.4. Zeitlichkeit des Daseins als Verständnishorizont des Seins
II.11.5. Die Geschichtlichkeit des Daseins als eine konkrete Ausarbeitung der Zeitlichkeit
II.11.6. Das Ergebnis : Die fundamentalontologische Frage nach dem Sinn von Sein überhaupt-Zeit selbst als Horizon des Seins
II.12. Max Scheler’s Reconstructive Critic of Heidegger’s Ontology of Dasein
II.13. Structure of recapitulation
II.14. CONCLUSION
Chap. III. DASEIN and God
The reconstructed Onto-theology of Martin Heidegger and the poetic God
III.0. Introduction
III.1. The Turn (Die Kehre)
III.2. The Reconstructed Onto-theology of Martin Heidegger
III.3. Heidegger and Theology: Distances and Rapprochements
III.4. Heidegger and the question about God
III.5. From Ereignis to God
III.6. From the Ereignis to God (Das Heilig, die Gottheit, der Letzte Gott)
III.7. The later God or the first God?
III.8. Encounter-relation between Dasein and God
III.9. Dasein and God: Towards Negative Theology
III.10. Evaluation
Chap IV. The Further Theological Development of the Ontology of Heidegger
J. B. Lotz, J. Maréchal, Karl Rahner, and Emerich Coreth
IV.O. Introduction
IV.1. A Critical Appropriation of Martin Heidegger by Christian theology
IV.2. John Baptist Lotz’s Critical Appropriation of Heidegger’s Ontology
IV.3. Joseph Maréchal and the transcendental Metaphysics
IV.3.1.Who is Marechal ? : Life and Philosophy
IV.3.2.His Contribution to Philosophy
IV.3.4.Human experience of the absolute truth
IV.3.5.Transcendental method as an orientation towards the Absolute being
IV.3.6.The transcendental reality
IV.3.7.Experience the absolute existence
IV.3.8.Transcendental experience as a mystical experience
IV.4. Karl Rahner’s Critical Appropriation of Heidegger’s Ontology
IV.4.1.Relationship between Heidegger and Rahner: Philosophical Influence
IV.4.2.Heidegger and Rahner: Metaphysics and Theology
IV.4.3. Martin Heidegger’s Transcendental Metaphysics and Karl Rahner’s Transcendental Theology
IV.4.4.Karl Rahner on Finitude and Revelation
IV.4.5. Human being before God
IV.4.6. Hearing and Revelation
IV.4.7. Revelation as a Grace
IV.4.8. Categorical and transcendental revelation
IV.4.9. Toward a Transcendental Theology
IV.4.10. Dasein and God
IV.4.11. Ontology-Anthropology-Theology
IV.4.12. Dasein related to God
IV.4.13. The Being of God
IV.4.14. Evaluation
IV. 5. Coreth and Heidegger: God als Seinshorizont
IV.5.1. Zu Leben und Werk Coreths
IV.5.2. The question of Being
IV.5.3. Seinshorizont
IV.5.4. Die Gottesfrage
IV.5.5. Gott und die Lichtung des Seins : Critical Reconstruction of Heidegger
IV.5.6. Evaluation
IV.6. The relevance of the ontology of Heidegger for Christian Philosophy and theology
CONCLUSION
GENERAL CONCLUSION
Objectives & Themes
The main objective of this work is to provide a systematic discussion of the core concept of the “meaning of being-existence” in the works of Martin Heidegger, while critically examining its connection to and relevance for Christian philosophy and theology through a dialogue with thinkers such as Lotz, Maréchal, Rahner, and Coreth.
- Heidegger’s fundamental ontology and the Dasein analysis in Sein und Zeit.
- The relationship between Dasein and God within the reconstructed onto-theology of the "later Heidegger."
- Critical reception and appropriation of Heidegger’s ontology by 20th-century Jesuit theologians.
- The role of the transcendental method in bridging the gap between existential phenomenology and systematic theology.
Excerpt from the Book
O.1. Motivation, Narrative: Ein Denkenweg
Martin Heidegger often speaks about path (Itinerarium) of thinking rather than biography and thought’s development. By using the term, path of thinking (der Denkenweg), Martin Heidegger states that every philosophical quest is a way of discovering, something that sets us on a path that is still obscure. In re-reading the path of my personal philosophical journey, as related to this study, I have no doubt that the writing of this thesis in philosophy should not be understood as a point of arrival, rather as something which is connected to an itinerancy of thinking and searching for truth and the language to express it, as a journey which must continue.
I grew up in a context where many people are interested and concerned about questions of peace, justice, reconciliation, struggle for every dimension of human rights and the search for the good conditions of life, that to study philosophy appears always as a waste of time. I still remember some students of philosophy in Kinshasa (Capital of Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) who used to say that as Congolese we do not need philosophy, because it does not provide meals on the table. This statement speaks volume about the place that philosophy occupies in the context of DRC, which remains dominated by the struggle for a better life and the improvement of the conditions of life for many people.
Summary of Chapters
O. GENERAL INTRODUCTION: Outlines the author's personal philosophical journey as a path of thinking (Ein Denkenweg) and sets the stage for exploring the question of Being in the context of Heidegger's philosophy and its theological implications.
Part I. THE EXISTENTIAL ONTOLOGY OF MARTIN HEIDEGGER: Provides the foundational analysis of Heidegger’s existential ontology, focusing on the methodology and the initial approach to Dasein.
CHAP I: Die Ausarbeitung der Seinsfrage- Die Methode der Untersuchung: Examines Heidegger's critique of traditional metaphysics and his proposal for a new fundamental ontology centered on the analysis of Dasein as the path to understanding Being.
Chap II. The Analysis of Dasein: Offers a deep dive into the structures of Dasein, including worldliness, thrownness, anxiety, and the essential link to temporality and death.
Chap. III. DASEIN and God: Investigates the shift in Heidegger’s later philosophy (Die Kehre) and his attempt to rethink the relationship between Dasein and God, moving toward a poetic and negative theological perspective.
Chap IV. The Further Theological Development of the Ontology of Heidegger: Explores how Christian thinkers like Lotz, Maréchal, Rahner, and Coreth appropriated and reconstructed Heidegger's ontology to develop a Christian metaphysical theology.
Keywords
Martin Heidegger, Dasein, Ontology, Being (Sein), Beings (Seiende), Existentialism, Ontological Difference, Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Theology, Karl Rahner, Joseph Maréchal, Emerich Coreth, God, Transcendence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental aim of this academic work?
The work aims to provide a systematic and holistic analysis of Martin Heidegger's concept of the "meaning of being" and explores how this concept can be integrated into or interpreted within Christian philosophy and theology.
What are the core thematic fields covered?
The core fields include fundamental ontology, phenomenology, hermeneutics of facticity, and the intersection between modern existential philosophy and 20th-century Jesuit theological thought.
What is the primary research question?
The primary research question revolves around how the Heideggerian analysis of Dasein and the "meaning of being" can be developed, reinterpreted, or critically challenged within the perspective of systematic theology and Christian metaphysical thought.
Which scientific methodology is primarily employed?
The author employs a hermeneutical and phenomenological approach, systematically engaging with primary texts (Heidegger) and secondary literature from prominent neo-scholastic philosophers and theologians to build a bridge between continental philosophy and Christian theology.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body traverses Heidegger’s early fundamental ontology (Being and Time), the "turn" (Kehre) in his later works concerning the question of God (Ereignis), and the critical reception by thinkers like Lotz, Maréchal, Rahner, and Coreth.
Which specific keywords characterize the research?
Key terms include Dasein, ontological difference, facticity, hermeneutics, transcendental metaphysics, Ereignis (event), and onto-theology.
How does the author define the relationship between Dasein and God?
The author argues that while Heidegger’s early work focuses on Dasein as a "shepherd of Being," his later work—and the appropriation of it by thinkers like Rahner—suggests a path where Dasein’s openness to finitude serves as a potential horizon for an encounter with the Absolute Mystery of God.
What role does Max Scheler play in the author's argument?
Max Scheler provides a critical, reconstructive perspective on Heidegger’s work, forcing a confrontation between Heidegger’s "ontological" analysis of existence and the need for a philosophical account of the Absolute, which pushes the discussion toward a theological horizon.
- Quote paper
- Dieudonné Mbiribindi Bahati (Author), 2019, Human Existence Before God, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/922926
