Death, Solitude, and Being-With

Article

Abstract

[In English]

The insistence on singularity, individuality and authenticity in existential philosophy seems to lead inevitably to some form of solipsism, rendering authors such as Sartre and Heidegger incapable of doing anything more than briefly sketching out a theory of Mitsein. This paper will suggest that the problems inherent in thinking being-with in existential philosophy stem from an erroneous understanding of the role of death and solitude with regard to the constitution of subjectivity and, by extension, intersubjectivity, and that a return to Kierkegaard’s analyses of these themes can offer a new perspective on the possibility understanding Mitsein in existential thought.