And So It Begins

Heidegger's Being and Time is often considered one of the most difficult philosophical books ever written. But after being encouraged by Kant's Critique of Pure Reason to an unhealthy degree, I feel ready to embark on an epic journey into the depths of Being and Time.

Those who have made the journey never return quite the same - if, indeed, they return at all. The walls of philosophy departments around the world whisper dark tales of those who foolishly indulged themselves in the arcane knowledge hidden deep within the pages of that fabled book, sorrow-filled stories of the Unprepared and Naïve. According to ancient lore, Being and Time is an intricate spell, designed to deviously ensnare its victims by working gradually within the hapless mind of the unsuspecting reader. The results are notorious: those that claim to have found the wisdom of Being and Time lose their ability to communicate successfully with other denizens of the world altogether, and instead spew out unintelligible Heideggerian. "Das Nichts nichtet!" they scream out repeatedly, mesmerized by the sheer tautological force of those words, helplessly lost in their Heideggerian insanity. It is a fearsome fate, to be sure. Yet, my friends, therein lies my destiny. Through the pages of Being and Time my path runs, beckoning me.

I have taken an alias, a name to cover up my true origins. I shall attempt to enter the world of Being and Time unnoticed by assuming another identity. From this point onward, I shall not be known as the Kantian named Toni Kannisto, but as Dasein-Toni. I will leave my Kant behind in appearance, but I shall hold onto the light of Kritik der Reinen Vernunft in my heart when the world around me becomes too dark, and embrace my Transcendental Unity of Apperception for comfort, and by the power of Kant I shall endure. Let the Daseins and unhiddennesses come, for I am prepared! I will delve deep into the mysteries of Being and Time, and emerge from the gorge of occult metaphysics untouched by the incantation that would transform me into a babbling speaker of Heideggerian. I shall enter the domain of Heidegger, liberate his wisdom from the clutches of nonsensical gibberish and shout out the truths of Being and Time in Plain Language.

Or die trying.

So this is the story of one little Kantian with too much time on his hands. This is A Kantian's Journey There And Back Again! -Dramatic Silence- Or at least There; the Back Again part is something I wouldn't count on, really.

Will I become just another notch in the cover of Being and Time, or will I conquer the juggernaut of philosophy? Will I unhide the Truth hidden between the pages of the mystical tome? Will my Kant persist through the suffocating darkness that is the Being and Time, or will Dasein overcome the Principle of Transcendental Unity of Apperception? Will the chaos of terminological whirlwind or the tsunami of poorly defined concepts turn me into a peg-legged carrot with bad eyesight?

Stop asking and read the damned diary.