Heidegger's "The Nothing" and God's "I AM."
Heidegger's "The Nothing" and God's "I AM."
I want to understand Flannery O'Connor's sense of Heidegger's contributions and limitations.
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Exploring the Intersection of Heidegger and Christian Metaphysics
Last week, Josey and I watched Wildcat, a highly creative, artsy, and powerful film about the life of writer Flannery O'Connor, whom we are studying in my book club. I left the movie theater more enthusiastic about Flannery than ever. She was influenced to some degree by Martin Heidegger, whom she paraphrases in one of her short stories, "Good Country People." Since Heidegger is a connection I have with Flannery, I decided to reread Heidegger's "What is Metaphysics?" which is the lecture she references. I finished my third reading last night.
Heidegger’s "What is Metaphysics?"
"What is Metaphysics?" was Heidegger's inaugural address to the University of Freiburg, delivered two years after the publication of Being and Time. This lecture is essential reading, along with "Introduction to Metaphysics," another lecture he presented at Freiburg six years later. In my third reading of "What is Metaphysics?" I finally distilled his thesis that turned 20th-century thought on its head.
The Core of Heidegger's Thesis
Heidegger argues that "the Nothing" is originary to "the What-is." In other words, the Nothing is fundamentally preeminent to the What-is, making the Nothing primordial to the Metaphysics of the What-is. If the What-is were originary, then the Nothing would be a mere negation, a "what-is-not." Logic and reason would rule supreme, as they do in our philosophical tradition. In this tradition, the Nothing is logically what-is-not, determined by the origin of What-is. However, Heidegger contends that if the Nothing is originary, it is not merely a negation, and logic loses its dominance. For Heidegger, the Nothing is primordial to the What-is; the Nothing precedes the What-is.
Contrasting with Christian Metaphysics
Now, let's consider fundamental Christian metaphysics. In Exodus 3:14 (Douay-Rheims), God says to Moses, "I am Who am." Here, God asserts that "the What-is" is originary to "the Nothing," contrary to Heidegger’s proposal. This is where a significant divergence occurs between Heidegger and Christians, particularly Catholics. Heidegger grounds his project in reversing this origin. God clearly states, "I am Who am," establishing that What-is comes before Nothing. Heidegger, however, proposes the opposite.
Reconciling Heidegger and Christian Thought
This twist with Christian metaphysics does not detract from Heidegger's phenomenological genius or his contributions to the human experience of Aletheia. From the perspective of human experience, the wonder of alethic appearance seems to originate from a Nothingness of sorts. Heidegger's position is worthy of phenomenological reflection. However, this lecture highlights the limitations a Catholic must consider when contemplating his phenomenology. After rereading this lecture and watching Wildcat, I am eager to understand Flannery's sense of Heidegger's contributions and limitations.
Quotations for thought
“What is the nothing?” ~ Heidegger
"Maybe the act of negation and its 'is-not' can occur only if the nothing first occurs. This point has never even been explicitly raised as a question, much less decided." ~ Heidegger
"Our own position is that the nothing is closer to the origin than the act of negation and its 'is-not.' If this thesis is correct, then the possibility of negation as an act of reason (and therefore reason itself) is dependent in some way on the nothing." ~ Heidegger
"I am Who am." ~ God
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