The Heideggerian Uncanny: Self-Constitution and Being-Towards-Death

Mihnea Chiujdea (Freie Universität Berlin)

We invite colleagues, doctoral candidates and Master’s students to attend a special session of our seminar, “Life and Death in Contemporary Philosophy”, which takes place on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. at the École normale supérieure (Paris).

For this session, we are pleased to welcome Dr Mihnea Chiujdea (Center for Post-Kantian Philosophy – University of Potsdam), who will deliver a lecture entitled “The Heideggerian Uncanny: Self-Constitution and Being-Towards-Death”.

Venue and time: The session will be held from 5.00 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. in the Salle Cavaillès at the ENS (45 rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris).

Further information:
https://paysgermaniques.fr/events/la-vie-et-la-mort-seminaire-doctoral/
https://republique-des-savoirs.fr/events/event/seminaire-doctoral-la-vie-et-la-mort/

You are kindly requested to register by email. Contact details are available on the websites indicated above.

Abstract:

Dr Mihnea Chiujdea: “The Heideggerian Uncanny: Self-Constitution and Being-Towards-Death”

“In this talk, I propose a reassessment of the significance of the uncanny in Heidegger’s work. First, in keeping with the model of Dasein’s self-constitution that I take Heidegger to advance, I develop two problems – acting in light of norms and stagnation. These enable me to highlight the need for the discontinuity which I later show the experience of the uncanny is able to provide, as well as the role played by being-towards-death, or self-undermining.

I then examine Heidegger’s explicit treatment of the uncanny, distinguishing between an existential structure of the uncanny and an episodic form of it. The episodic uncanny not only has explanatory priority; it is also significant because it engenders a disposition towards self-undermining. In turn, self-undermining is implicated in the solution to the two problems with which I began.

In the final part of the talk, I ask how the episodic uncanny can bring about being-towards-death. I suggest that it involves a transformative aesthetic experience.”