Being and Time

Undergraduate / Graduate

It has been almost one hundred years since Martin Heidegger published his magnum opus, Being and Time (1927). One of the greatest philosophical works of the twentieth century, it continues to inspire and disturb. To inspire: few books have had such a powerful influence or have been so generative in so many fields of inquiry. To disturb: few have been so forcefully denounced, in no small part because of Heidegger's notorious involvement in National Socialism. In this class, we will revisit this unsettling classic and gauge its impact. What does it mean to read Being and Time today? What difference does today make in our reading? What future, if any, awaits this book? In asking these questions, our primary focus will be Heidegger's analysis of futurity (Zukünftigkeit) and its link with anxiety, death, conscience, tradition, and history.