Paper #4 Guidelines

The final paper will focus on the later Heidegger’s concept of the history of being, and group authenticity. As we have seen, his articulation of the past and present aspects of the historical context is intended to make the notions of authenticity and an open future more concrete. Discuss in detail how Heidegger incorporates the 3 moments of time into the first beginning, the various epochs of metaphysics, and another beginning. How does the notion of another beginning reflect the concept of a creative and dynamic repetition we saw in Being and Time? Then discuss the concept of group authenticity by considering how groups or societies can prepare for another beginning, summarizing Heidegger’s comments and expanding on them with your own original suggestions. Finally, evaluate this conception of history and the manner in which it is stated: Does Heidegger, like Sartre, constrain the notion of an open future by making history too determinate? At the opposite extreme, is the quasi-poetic language he uses (e.g., in the concept of the fourfold) too vague to provide us with a clear conception of history?

Sources and Citations – Use at least 4 quotations from Heidegger. Provide full citations for any quotations or paraphrases (not including class lectures), using any standard method that provides all of the relevant information (including exact page numbers). Keep in mind that many internet sources are unreliable.

Sample: Augustine, “On the Free Choice of the Will,” in Medieval Philosophy, 4^th edition, ed. Forrest E. Baird and Walter Kaufmann (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2003), p. 81.

Place full citations in endnotes or a bibliography placed at the very end of the paper. Citations in the text or in footnotes should include only the author’s last name and the page numbers.

Length – Minimum 7 full pages, maximum 10 pages. If you use formatting or stylistic devices which artificially inflate the length of your writing – such as titles or headers, footnotes or citations within the text, or extra spaces between paragraphs – you will need to expand the length of your essay or essays to make up the difference.

Grammar, Spelling, Style, Organization – Please edit and revise your papers before turning them in. If there is more than one error, on average, per page, you will need to rewrite your paper. Students with serious writing issues will be required to take drafts of each of their papers to the Campus Writing Center in EN A012 for assistance.

Formatting – Number pages and staple; 12 point type; Double-spaced; 1-1.5 inch margins