From: HealantHenry-AT-aol.com
Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2001 13:29:04 EDT
Subject: Re: A Question of Free Will


Wendy,
I would say that one way to approach this form a point in Heidegger is to 
suggest that issues of "will" as proposed by determinists and libertarians is 
derived from within the the  history of metaphysics.  I would, for example, 
distinguish these arguments as derived from epistemology (theory of 
knowledge) rather than ontology, which is Heidegger's approach.

A simple interpretation of Heidegger that I would suggest is this: 
Heidegger says we are always already thrown into a world that makes sense and 
that provides us with the possibilities for our lives we either take up or 
let pass by.  We could cal this world the background of all our interactions 
in the world as Dasein ("being there" in German). This way of looking at it 
provides us with an epistemology that is 

1) not just mental but based on how we cope with and care with our 
surroundings, which we do the way we interprete what we see others do. That 
is, our lives are already "determined" by the social practices we grow into 
as we become fully grown humans. 

2) but within this also is our ability, or rather our temporal way of being 
that is ceaselessly interpreting .  We always seize or let pass 
by...something, some activity, some possibility.

So, from the point of view of theclass question, Heidegger has 
characteristics of both:  in some ways our lives are determined by the 
cultural background inwhich we dwell, and by which we develop our skills and 
cultural pracxtices which enable us to interprete the world; but also, we are 
open-ended inour ceaseless ability to develop, enrich and newly-devise our 
possibilities.

That'll be 2 cents, please.

Kindest regards,
Henry


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