Path of Totality

This is where I study, and post from.

Dasein (4 of 4) The world is not a collection of things set over against humanity as though humanity is one kind of thing and the contents of the world another kind. Here we discover the reason Heidegger uses the word Dasein instead of humanity, even though Dasein represents Heidegger’s new concept of humanity. Instead of viewing people solely as encapsulated in their bodies, the word Dasein is used to emphasize their being as a “wide” field. This wide-field dimension of people is the world. As Heidegger points out, “The world is not a way of characterizing those entities which Dasein essentially is not; it is rather a characteristic of Dasein itself.” — from Philosophy: History & Problems by Samuel Stumpf, 1994, McGraw Hill, Inc. Edition, pgs. 505-506

Dasein (3 of 4) To be in the world as Dasein is not the same thing as one thing being in another thing, as water is in a glass or as clothes are in a closet. Dasein, that is humanity, is in the world in the sense of “dwelling upon”, of “being familiar with”, or “I look after something”. Here the emphasis is not upon one object related in space to another object, but rather a mode of understanding. To say, for example, that “she is in love” does not refer to her location, but rather to her mode of being. Similarly, to say that people are in the world is not only to place them in space, but to describe the structure of their existence which makes it possible for them to think meaningfully about the world.

Dasein (2 of 4) A human being is best described as a unique mode of being rather than defined as an object. As Heidegger points out, “because we cannot define Dasein’s essence by citing a ‘what’ of the kind that pertains to [an object] . . . we have chosen to designate this entity [person] as ‘Dasein’, a term which is purely an expression of its being”. A person as Dasein, or “being there” in the world, is a continuous being who thinks about the meaning of everything that is, not for any particular result, but because he or she is a “thinking, that is, a musing being”. If, then, we ask what is the essence of humanity, the answer lies not in some attributes or properties, but rather in how people exist.

Dasein (1 of 4) Heidegger took seriously the meaning of the Greek word phenomenon as “that which reveals itself”. What he thought he discovered by letting our human existence reveal itself was something quite different from our conventional conception of humanity. For this reason, Heidegger coined a new word to describe more accurately the experience of human existence: That word is Dasein, which in German means simply “being there”.

The Acceleration of Time (2 of 2) “The society tumbling, declining toward the heavy side of the scale will perceive time as ascending toward an imagined end. From the material perspective, society progresses toward technological saturation and ‘infinite’ wealth; from the spiritual perspective, because any amount of human nature is abandoned for the ‘enlightened’ presumption that reason alone can win all hearts and minds, society speeds toward an unwieldy accumulation of technics without the discernment to properly employ it. This is what is meant by the acceleration of time, and this is why the end is imminent.” — from Myth and Sun by Martin Friedrich, Clemens & Blair Edition, 2022, p. 50

The Acceleration of Time (1 of 2) “Decline means imbalance. Imbalance means a tipping point of the scales. If on one side of the scale we hold irrationality, and on the other side of the scales sits rationality, if one side carries more weight, naturally, the scale becomes imbalanced. If the modern world, through material-man’s dogged pursuit of material-theocracy, seeks to achieve perfect rationality through the presumed transcendent powers of science, then the rational side of the scale will inevitably outweigh the irrational side, and thus begins societal decline.”

A Leader Among Men “Great men have risen for the German people throughout its history. The greatest German of all times is Adolf Hitler. The coming millennia of German history will be an imperishable monument to his deeds, his exemplary life, his teachings, and his leadership. His work already points far beyond all familiar concepts of time. It is not deification when the German people approach this man as their leader with unwavering faith. It is only natural that the leadership created by Adolf Hitler will stand for the future on the belief of the German people.” — from Mastering Life (1942) by Anton Holzner, Invisible Empire Publishing Edition, 2024, p. 25

Heidegger on Anxiety “For Heidegger, anxiety is not simply a psychological state; it is rather a mode of a person’s being. Nor is anxiety similar to fear. Fear has an object, a snake or an enemy against which it is possible to defend oneself. But anxiety refers to nothing, precisely to nothing. Anxiety reveals the presence of ‘nothingness’ in our being. There is no way to alter the presence of nothingness in the center of our being, the inevitability that we shall die. When we affirm our authentic self, when we see transparently what and who we are, we discover that in our inauthentic existence we have been trying to do the impossible, namely to hide the fact of our limitations and our temporality.” — from Philosophy: History & Problems by Samuel Stumpf, 1994, McGraw Hill, Inc. Edition, p. 507

Heidegger on Anxiety “For Heidegger, anxiety is not simply a psychological state; it is rather a mode of a person’s being. Nor is anxiety similar to fear. Fear has an object, a snake or an enemy against which it is possible to defend oneself. But anxiety refers to nothing, precisely to nothing. Anxiety reveals the presence of ‘nothingness’ in our being. There is no way to alter the presence of nothingness in the center of our being, the inevitability that we shall die. When we affirm our authentic self, when we see transparently what and who we are, we discover that in our inauthentic existence we have been trying to do the impossible, namely to hide the fact of our limitations and our temporality.” — from Philosophy: History & Problems by Samuel Stumpf, 1994, McGraw Hill, Inc. Edition, p. 507 [Featured is the ending movie scene from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)]

The Youngest Spy, and the Evil of the Victors 16-year-old Hitler Youth member Karl Arno Punzeler listens as an American sergeant translates his verdict of life sentence in prison for espionage, Feb. of 1945. He was apprehended near the border region between Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, where he was discovered to be communicating Allied troop movements to the German Army, and was held in the Aachen city jail where he received a death sentence for espionage. Aachen was captured by allied forces in October 1944, and because Punzeler was discovered operating in the area without uniform after this he was charged with espionage. However, since he was just a teenager at the time, Lt. General Courtney Hodges, commander of the 1st Army, commuted the sentence to life. Punzeler spent the next 10 years in prison but was eventually released in 1955 at age 27. Little else is known about Punzeler from that time on. Source: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/us-spares-life-of-hitler-youth-orig-1945-news

Men Against Time (2 of 2) [Pictured is Der Führer Adolf Hitler in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa] “The Führerprinzip was ideologically born in Hegel’s philosophy. ‘There is a divine will, and all we are is its instruments.’ This, of course, is precisely what Hitler is engaging in when [Hegel] says his “doctrine of the Führerprinzip is … [not] a doctrine of a brutal dictator who triumphs over the destruction of the values of private life … [but the doctrine of public discourse].” — from Myth and Sun by Martin Friedrich, Clemens & Blair Edition, 2022, pgs. 97-98

Men Against Time (1 of 2) [Pictured is the cloak worn by Napoleon during his Egyptian campaign] “Napoleon, too, was a man out of time — or perhaps a man against time. For he, too, was eventually deposed, defeated, and left behind by the supposed eternal march of rationalistic progress. He personified, if only for a moment, the spirit of an entire people, attempting, through his will and theirs, to bring them out of the chaos that embroiled them; he imposed his authority and offered them freedom through it — the freedom of any reasonable people making a self-conscious decision: a decision to willfully subordinate their individual desires for something more communal, more transcendent.” — from Myth and Sun by Martin Friedrich, Clemens & Blair Edition, 2022, p. 92

#ScienceSaturday No. 97 Blinded by Science (1979) by Foreigner “I'm worried 'bout the world that we live in, I'm worried by all the confusion, I wonder 'bout the lies I've been reading, I wonder where this madness is leading. Is this a road going nowhere, Or is someone leading us somewhere? I can't believe we're here for no reason, There must be something we can believe in.” Songwriter: Michael Jones Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJeDpSJ1JLA

The Trump Victory (2 of 2) “But that does not mean that Trump’s success is without substantial benefit to National Socialists and other pro-White advocates. One thing that he has achieved has been overlooked by his cheering squad: His victory has raised the morale of the White population to heights that has not been seen in over 50 years. For the first time in decades, White people have a glimmer of hope for a better tomorrow. With this hope (as misplaced as it may turn out) and with an elevated morale, new possibilities will open up for National Socialists to exploit. With low morale, nothing is possible; with high morale, miracles may be achieved!” — Martin Kerr, Chief of Staff of the NEW ORDER Source: https://www.theneworder.net/the-trump-victory.html

The Trump Victory (1 of 2) “…the sad fact is that even if he achieves his maximum agenda (as unlikely as that may be), it would only provide some temporary relief for White America. Whatever gains he makes will be immediately undone the next time we have a Democratic presidency and Congress. And the slide towards the oblivion of the West will resume.”

Michelangelo once said: "The true work of art is but a shadow of divine perfection." Undine Rising from the Waters, by Chauncy Bradley Ives, 1880

"To dare is to lose one's footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose one’s self." — Søren Kierkegaard