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Heidegger and Anticipatory Resoluteness: How Much Freedom Do We Have in our Choices?
How Much Freedom Do We Have in our Choices?
In Being & Time, “anticipatory resoluteness” is the lifeblood of authenticity. Anticipatory resoluteness is a choice Dasein makes. However, it is unclear how much freedom there is in this choice. In choosing authenticity, how much reflective deliberation, voluntarism, or primordial acts of willing are involved? How “active” rather than “passive” is this choice? This essay intends to clarify just how much freedom we have in choosing to be authentic. This essay intends to establish that in Being & Time, Heidegger’s retrospective idea that the choice to be authentic is not a matter of deliberate decision-making (i.e., the contemporary notion of free will) is substantiated. The analysis which shall establish these claims will run as follows: Section 1 will clarify key terms. The central purpose of this section is mainly to get clear on the nature of authenticity in Being & Time — which necessarily entails understanding a variety of related concepts. Section 2 will explore the concept of “freedom” as it pertains to Being & Time. Specifically, freedom pertaining to the concept of “choice” in the “choice” of authenticity in Being & Time. In this exploration, we shall establish that “freedom,” insofar as it is understood in contemporary…