What Does Heidegger Mean by the Transcendence of Dasein?

Abstract

In this paper, I shall examine the evolution of Heidegger’s concept of ‘transcendence’ as it appears in Being and Time (1927), ‘On the Essence of Ground’ (1928) and related texts from the late 1920s in relation to his rethinking of subjectivity and intentionality. Heidegger defines Being as ‘transcendence’ in Being and Time and reinterprets intentionality in terms of the transcendence of Dasein. In the critical epistemological tradition of philosophy stemming from Kant, as in Husserl, transcendence and immanence are key notions (see Husserl, The Idea of Phenomenology, 1907, and Ideas I, 1913). Indeed, ‘transcendence in immanence’ is a leitmotif of Husserl’s phenomenology. Husserl discusses transcendence in some detail in Cartesian Meditations §11 in a manner that is not dissimilar to Heidegger. Heidegger is critical of Husserl’s understanding of consciousness and intentionality and Heidegger deliberately chooses to discuss transcendence as an exceptional domain for the discussion of beings in his ‘On the Essence of Ground’, his submission to Husserl’s seventieth-birthday Festschrift. Despite his championing of a new concept of transcendence in the late 1920s, Heidegger effectively abandons the term during the early 1930s. In this paper, I shall explore Heidegger’s articulation of his new ontological conception of finite transcendence and compare it with Husserl’s conception of the transcendence of the ego in order to get clearer what is at stake in Heidegger’s conceptions of subjectivity, Dasein and transcendence.     

The Logical Deduction of Doctrine

The idea that Roman Catholic doctrines for which there is no early testimony can be explained as logical deductions from undoubtedly early teachings is usually dismissed as obviously false. By invoking the logical properties of doctrines expressed as explicit generalizations, however, and by distinguishing deductions in which all the assumptions represent Apostolic doctrine from those in which all the doctrinal assumptions are Apostolic, a way is found to deduce the disputed doctrines while leaving the immutability of doctrine intact. Although a theory of theological development is thus not needed to justify doctrinal additions, developments in theology nevertheless often motivate the authoritative pronouncements cited by doctrinal deductions. Finally, it is argued that a correct understanding of such deductions improves the prospects for reunion between those whose doctrinal axioms coincide even if differing historical information has rendered them incapable of following the same chain of deductions.     

Thoughts on the Bioethics of Estranged Biological Kin

This paper considers the bioethics of estranged biological kin, who are biologically related people not in contact with one another (due to adoption, abandonment, or other long‐term estrangement). Specifically, I am interested in what is owed to estranged biological kin in the event of medical need. A survey of current bioethics demonstrates that most analyses are not prepared to reckon with the complications of having or being estranged biological kin. For example, adoptees might wonder if a lack of contact with biological kin could someday affect their medical care (or affect the medical care of their biological relatives). Estranged biological kin, such as adoptees, present us with a chance to think about human connection. After sketching several organ‐donation and adoption tropes, I argue that a feminist analysis of vulnerability and dependency is helpful for understanding the confusing ties of estranged biological kin. I conclude by proposing a medical registry that would put adoptees and others in touch with their estranged biological kin on a medically as‐needed basis.     

Developing the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a Measure of Self-Forgiveness Related to Failing and Succeeding Behaviors

The Psychological Record - This study aimed to develop the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) as a measure of response biases related to emotional reactions and expected outcomes in...     

Cortisol,stress, and attentional bias toward threat

Abstract

Attentional bias toward threatening stimuli is a central characteristic of anxiety and acute stress. Recent small-scale studies have provided divergent perspectives on the association between the stress hormone cortisol and attentional bias toward threat cues. In a larger sample size than previous studies, we examined this association by investigating the impact of cortisol on attentional bias in two studies using a psychological stressor (N=35) and a physical stressor (N=65), respectively. Attentional bias and salivary cortisol were measured prior to and following the administration of a stressful task designed to increase cortisol levels. Results across these studies were equivocal relative to the association between baseline cortisol and baseline attentional bias. In addition, the association between acute change in cortisol and change in attentional bias appeared to differ as a function of the presence or absence of psychological stress. There was a trend toward a stronger negative association between acute cortisol change and attentional bias change among women relative to men. These results imply that the association between cortisol and attentional bias may be moderated by additional factors, such as gender or presence of stress.     

What is learning? On the nature and merits of a functional definition of learning

Learning has been defined functionally as changes in behavior that result from experience or mechanistically as changes in the organism that result from experience. Both types of definitions are problematic. We define learning as ontogenetic adaptation—that is, as changes in the behavior of an organism that result from regularities in the environment of the organism. This functional definition not only solves the problems of other definitions, but also has important advantages for cognitive learning research.     

Using Multiple Informants to Assess Child Maltreatment: Concordance between Case File and Youth Self-Report

To understand the psychosocial implications of child maltreatment, methods used to document prevalence must be clear. Yet, rates of maltreatment found in child self-report are generally inconsistent with data found in case files from state social service agencies. Although it is known that self-reports and case file reports of abuse disagree on occurrence of specific events, it is unclear if reporters agree when overall categories of abuse are considered. This study investigated differences between case file and youth report of abuse by examining four types of abuse—physical, sexual, neglect, and psychological—in a within-subjects design using a sample of 97 youth in foster care aged 8 to 22. Case files were coded for the presence of any indication of each type of abuse. Self-report of abuse was also assessed for any indication of each type of abuse. Results indicated that, overall, youth reported more physical and psychological abuse, and younger youth reported more sexual abuse than documented in their file. Implications for research and service provision for maltreated youth are discussed.     

Acceptance versus distraction: brief instructions, metaphors and exercises in increasing tolerance for self-delivered electric shocks

The current study compared the effects of an acceptance versus distraction rationale on coping with experimentally induced pain. Eighty participants were randomly assigned to one of five conditions: Full-Acceptance, Full-Distraction, Instruction-only-Acceptance, Instruction-only-Distraction and No-Instructions. Participants completed a simple matching task and were intermittently given the choice either to receive an electric shock and continue, or to avoid the shock and terminate the task. Only the Full-Acceptance strategy (that included experiential exercises and a metaphor) had a significant effect on task tolerance as measured by an increase in the number of shocks delivered post-intervention relative to baseline. In addition, the participants in both of the acceptance conditions showed lower levels of believability in that they were more likely to continue with the task even when reporting more pain. The results support the prediction that acceptance-based interventions work by undermining the behavioural-control functions of pain-related thoughts and feelings, and call for a systematic analysis of how metaphors and exercises work in analogue research.     

Perceived Discrimination Among Ethnic Minority Young People: The Role of Psychological Variables1

Because of difficulties in objectively determining discrimination, attention has turned to individual differences in perceptions of discrimination. This study aimed to build on such work by investigating the role of psychological variables in predicting perceived discrimination (PD) in a UK sample of ethnic minority young people (n= 154). A series of multiple regression analyses yielded 3 pathways leading to PD. There was a direct effect of gender on PD. Depression and low self‐esteem and need for approval predicted anxiety, which in turn was related to higher PD. Finally, private collective self‐esteem correlated with public collective self‐esteem, which in turn predicted lower PD. The results point to the importance of psychological variables, both personal and collective, in the perception of ethnic discrimination. Furthermore, the findings enhance our understanding of the complex associations between self‐esteem, affect, and PD.