Philosophy

I concluded my studies in Philosophy at the

University of Utrecht with a thesis commenting

the notions of  'Time' and 'Temporality' in

Martin Heidegger's Sein und Zeit.

That book, published in 1927, is considered

to be one of the major works in Philosophy.

Inevitably a lot of secondary literature on that

book has been published ever since, but little

- almost nothing that really matters - on the

second half of its title: Time.

An astonishing fact to me, because the central

vision of the thoughts developed in that work

is elaborated in exactly the chapter that deals

with the notion of  'Temporality'.

A fact nevertheless  I had to prove at length

to convince especially my principal academic reviewer that it was worth-while working

on it. Once this fact however was proven convincingly my work on this subject was

enthusiastically followed by the faculty. Yet it was not this fact that romantically induced my

wish to work on the notions of  'Time' and 'Temporality'. The phenomenon of 'Time' fascinated

me already since my boyhood and I was only eager for concluding my academic studies with an

investigation of the fundamental ontological thoughts on this subject. Something I considered

at the same time a nice completion of the 'main forming period' of my life.

My work than, that is written in Dutch (215 pages), is divided in three parts.

In the first, also as a historical thematic introduction to the notion of time, Heidegger's notion of

time is compared (and contrasted) with the common philosophical and the mathematical or

physical understanding of it. Especially Bergson's notions of  'temps' and 'durée' are given

attention, also to value Heidegger's criticism on them. The neo-Kantian ideas of time are

investigated too, and the same with the notions of time as used in the works of Husserl and

Brentano. By this the originality of Heidegger's concepts is validated.

The second part consists out of a textual introduction explaining the key-notions by which the

translated third chapter from the second part of Sein und Zeit can be grasped properly.

In an appendix after the third part also all the main notions of Sein und Zeit are elucidated.

In the third part the two main concepts are commented that form Heidegger's notions of time

and temporality . Also becomes clear that the so often mentioned influences of Kierkegaard on

Heidegger's ideas do not reach further than they possible could have had in Jasper's

philosophy, which in that perspective ought to be given the priority than.

As a second appendix is an article presented with the conclusions of a study of the total work

of Emil Lask with regard to possible influences by his work. This study has proven that

suggestions of what influence so ever, and more over on the forming of Heidegger's notions

of time and temporality, are completely false.

This work of mine is a contribution by which in the history of thought  Heidegger's fundamental

ontological notions of time and temporality have been given the proper place they did not had

before. The traditionally too easily accepted nonsense about the immediate forming influences

either by philosophers who developed ideas about time before, or by Heidegger's philosophical

contexts as well at the time as at the days of his education, repeated again and again in the

secondary literature has been exposed as such. More over, the thorough investigations, closely

related to the original text, have shed new light now on as well the understanding of the

architecture of Sein und Zeit as on the genesis of its main constituent ideas and their expression.

Herbert ten Thij

A re-edited and revised publication in English of the main parts of this work, also interpreting

the perspective of a theory of modal evolution, is in progress now.