Heidegger studies • gary e. davis • berkeley



		Heidegger studies gary e. davis	APRIL 2025

Some old (2015) explanation follows the listing of topic areas here. Additions to this project will be noted at the “new in site” spot on my home page and on this page.

New: “after Arrival” honors Heidegger’s engagement with allegorical teaching. “On a way to original thinking” shares my sense of Heidegger’s pragmatic originality. “There being ‘Dasein’” highlights the relational character of Heidegger’s sense of the term. And “becoming post-Heideggerian,” “Heidegger and ‘technology’,” “Heidegger was not a ‘mystical’ philosopher” and “Cartesian sensibility vs. hermeneutical sensibility” have directly descriptive titles.

	January 2025
	introduction to Heidegger
		For new readers of Heidegger in English.

	APRIL 2025
	being a scholar of Heidegger’s ways
		These few discussions introduce some issues in scholarship, which is different from thinking with his texts.

	March 2025
	Appropriating
		a Heideggerian individuation folds into a way of being in free play.

	April 2025
	Heidegger and reading political times
		endeavoring to think well about emancipatory interest and improvised educational leadership

	February 2025
	Heidegger in our century
		This page prospects post-Heideggerian views.

August 2015

My own ventures are especially important to me, of course: the “Appropriating” section above. There are many years of things that could be listed here. Influence by Heidegger is so integral to me—echoing back decades—that I might consider everything I write to be in light of his influence.

“Heidegger and reading political times” is marginally important (though carefully done—but only partially presented). It was motivated by ongoing controversies (which are likely to get sillier in coming years).

Presently, my projects are growing in non-Heideggerian terms. Yet, one intent of that—one horizon, a telic cohering of my interest in doing this Heideggerian project—is to show good ways into Heidegger’s ways relative to our ethos, our contemporaneity. There’s more to scholarship than scholasticism (though this point seems to elude many scholars in academic business).

The September note below feels tiresome to me now, a creature of that autumn. But since my project is proximally for beginning students of his work, I’ll keep the little set of paragraphs.

Going my own way is gradually getting good form (through subarea listings here), but life is to be eternally met by more beginnings.

September, 2014

Each new generation of students may feel as if history begins with you—which is true, to some degree. What might be lastingly important for our accelerated times?

Sustainability of our Anthropocenic epoch is ultimately important. Also, legacy can be ultimately important, inherited and worth advancing beyond itself, like honoring influences by striving for excellent work that influences ( “paying forward,” it’s said), in effect giving the dead reincarnation, if not immortality, through one’s ownmost work, altogether contributing to Our evolving.

Nobody in the 20^th century had a conception of Anthropocene (though Heidegger was appealing for “planetary thinking” before the environmental movement of the ’70s, leading to the “planet management” movement of the ’90s, now to struggles for UN climate accords that can have force of law).

We evolved to here, now, and we develop a life in light of there being the evolving—in ever more need of insight—fundamental, lasting insight—originality, origination that may gain lasting efficacy. In light of appealing futures, we draw pasts.

Of course, a pretense of hope for high efficacy, of becoming original, would be profoundly innocent of you—of you. Thank goodness.


		Be fair. © 2025, g. e. davis.