Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger’s philosophy really drew me in. The video we watched in class on Martin Heidegger really appealed to me because of the certain phrases they used. “Heidegger diagnosed humans suffering from maladies of the soul.” This sentence is beautiful, and it resonated deep within me for many reasons. As a society, we are often quick to diagnose physical problems; a broken leg needs a cast, a sore throat needs a cough drop. However, we rarely identify mental or spiritual problems in our lives. Additionally, there is a stigma against having mental and spiritual problems. If someone is diagnosed with depression, a large amount of people would simply say, “Get over it, do something happy.” If someone is obsessed with luxury and the pursuit of money, most people don’t see a problem with that. But “we’ve forgotten that we’re alive.” We become so focused on material things that we often forget to marvel at the fact that we’re alive. The mystery of life and our interconnectedness is incredibly fascinating, though at times frightening to think of. Heidegger says that humans treat others as means and not ends, to further our own success. He believes that we are all fundamentally united because we’re all alive right now. This unity of being is such an attractive concept to me because in today’s society we are encouraged to think for yourself and to further your career and to do what’s best for you. We often forget to stop and think about the other seven billion people living on this planet during this very moment. “Overcoming egoism” is one of Heidegger’s main isms. He believed that the solution to our problems lay in spending more time at graveyards. I agree, we have to realize that in the great scheme of things, our lives are minuscule flecks in the timeline of the universe.