Oracle of Wisdom Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs

This study is borne out of motivation to attempt an alternative interpretation of the term “Dasein” as developed through the analysis of Heidegger's Magnum Opus, Being and Time and, in particular, the possibility that Dasein is meant to contain an inherent form of intersubjectivity to which we must “return” in order to achieve authenticity. Hence, it proposes a new contextual interpretation of his anthropology by examining his 'Dasein's existential structures and not his abstract concept. In such consciousness, this work aims to underline Heidegger's passage from Cartesian subjectivity to authentic human existence that is cognizant of the way our identities are always formed within a pre-existing community. Martin Heidegger maintains that we should start from “man” since man is the only being that asks the question of being. Man is the only being in the world that has relations to himself as well as to other beings. The existence of others is not merely accidental nor a problem for thought but it is a necessity of thought. Man is essentially a being-with-others. He is by his very nature a social being who can neither live nor be conceived in isolation. Thus, he is explicitly being-in-common, since human existence is a shared existence; a social interdependence of our everyday experience which is primordial and constitutive. Therefore, our attempt here is to reinterpret or shed new light on Heidegger's Dasein as Community. Efforts in terms of interpretations of Heidegger have been made in the past to unveil this, but the desired result is yet to be achieved in terms of studies and adequate awareness.

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