Existentiell

In English translations, the word rendered "existentiell" was, with the philosophical meaning discussed in this article, first used by Martin Heidegger. Though it is not commonly used in philosophy outside of discussions of Heidegger's seminal work "Being and Time", it is important to understand Heidegger's definition of the term if one wishes to study "Being and Time". Heidegger distinguishes between his two terms "existenti"al" and "existenti"ell" in the Introduction to "Being and Time".

English Etymology

Technically, Heidegger did not coin the exact term "existentiell". The common German word "existenziell" is usually translated into English as "existential". However, in Heidegger's works, he coined the "German" word "existenzial", giving it a meaning distinct from the common German word "existenziell". In English translations of Heidegger, then, the "German" "existenziell" is transliterated as "existentiell" in English, and the "German" word "existenzial" is transliterated as "existential", each word having its own technical meaning specific to Heidegger. [http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=806&C=1097]

Definition

"Dasein always understands itself in terms of its existence, in terms of its possibility to be itself or not be itself. Dasein has either chosen these possibilities itself, stumbled upon them, or already grown up in them. Existence is decided only by each Dasein itself in the manner of seizing upon or neglecting such possibilities. We come to terms with the question of existence always only through existence itself. We shall call this kind of understand of itself" existentiell "understanding. The question of existence is an ontic 'affair' of Dasein. For this the theoretical perspicuity of the ontological structure of existence is not necessary. The question of structure aims at the analysis of what constitutes existence. We shall call the coherence of these structures" existentiality. "Its analysis does not have the character of an existentiell understanding but rather an" existential "one. The task of an existential analysis of Dasein is prescribed with regard to its possibility and necessity in the ontic constitution of Dasein." (Martin Heidegger, "Being and Time", Introduction, Section 4. "Basic Works"pg. 52, HarperCollins Publishers, 1977)

In "Being and Time", by Martin Heidegger, the word existenti"ell" is used to describe an ontic understanding of beings in the world. An existentiell understanding addresses the facts about things in the context of the world, but not the essence of things, their true being. We understand things in an existentiell way when we go about our daily business, interacting with things in the world. This is distinct from the existenti"al" understanding, which is theoretical and ontological in character. Heidegger claims that his examination of Dasein (human "being") is an existenti"al" analysis. However, this is not to disparage existenti"ell" understanding--Heidegger argues that any authentic potentialities of Dasein (the human being in this case) brought out in the existential analysis must be realized in existenti"ell" understanding; i.e. it is the role of the existential analysis to function as a hermeneutic, to explicitly question Being and to interpret its structure, but Da-sein is not acting "authentically" until those interpretations are realized in Da-sein's ontic life.

ee also

* Existentialism
* Ontology
* Phenomenology