DPhil Seminar

Abstract: The analysis of the finitude of human understanding is a central strand of Heidegger’s work. In the secondary literature, his emphasis on the structural incompleteness of our access to the world is taken as one of his most important insights. According to finitist readings, Heidegger teaches us how to find our place within this finitude and to settle down within its bounds.

In my talk, I show that this is an insufficient reconstruction of Heidegger’s account. I argue that his analysis of our finitude is only the first step of a larger project of finding a way to overcome it. Based on his 1953 talk The Question Concerning Technology, I reconstruct the conceptual machinery Heidegger develops for this purpose. I show how he attempts to find, within the bounds of our incomplete access, the resources needed to move beyond this incompleteness.

I contend that this transgressive reading allows us to better capture the role Heidegger’s discussion of our finitude plays within his philosophical project.

Registration: If you do not hold a university card, please contact the seminar convenor or admin@philosophy.ox.ac.uk at least two working days before a seminar to register your attendance.

See the DPhil Seminar website for details.

_{DPhil Seminar Convenor: Tom Heywood}