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Truth, Being, and the Work of Art: Reflections on Heidegger's And Truth, Being, and The Work of Art: Reflections on Heidegger’s and Gadamer’s Interpretations of the Tradition Barbara Ann McCord Ph.D. Thesis Mary Immaculate College University of Limerick Supervisor: Dr Niall Keane Submitted to Mary Immaculate College: ______________________ i Declaration of Originality Declaration: I hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own original research and does not contain the work of any other individual. All sources that have been consulted have been identified and acknowledged in the appropriate way. Signature of Candidate: ___________________________________ Barbara Ann McCord Signature of Supervisor: ___________________________________ Dr Niall Keane Date: ____________________________________ ii Acknowledgements I would like to extend a very special thank you to Dr Niall Keane for his patience, kindness, and invaluable support in the supervision of this work. And for helping me to make my dream become a reality. A sincere thank you is also due to Dr Chris Lawn, for all the enjoyable, informative, and helpful conversations throughout the years in college. Many thanks go to Dr Gerard Downes for his practical help and kindness, which is much appreciated. To the staff in the various departments of Mary Immaculate College, too numerous to mention, whose support and friendly approach enhanced my experience of college life enormously, I extend my gratitude. I would also like to mention a word of thanks to members of the philosophy department in NUIG, including Prof. Paul Crowther, Dr Tsarina Doyle, and Dr Felix O’Murchadha, for their interest in the early stages of this project. Throughout the years of what has been at times a daunting undertaking I have been sustained by the conversations, encouragement, and love, of my close family, Jim, Jean, Sarah, and Jackie and for this I am truly grateful. Particular mention has to go to Jim who, with patience, good humour, and attention to detail, tirelessly attended to the technological aspect of making the compilation of this work possible. A huge thank you goes to my three sisters, Mary, Helen, and Marian for their continuing interest and encouragement. Especially to Marian, who also travelled the academic journey and supplied me with invaluable insights and information en route, I extend my love and gratitude. I would like to acknowledge my good friends, who helped me to take ‘time out’ during the years of study, with a special thank you to Thérèse, who so generously shared her professional expertise in helping me with the oral presentation of my work. Sharing a room with the other aspiring Ph.D. candidates Anne and Sandra made the daily task of writing easier, as did the company of all the post-grad community in Summerville. Finally, last but never forgotten, my deep gratitude goes to my parents who always encouraged us to search for truth. iii Dedication For Frank Who enriched my life with love and introduced me to the academic world of philosophy Also for our three beautiful granddaughters, Jenny, Kyra, and Becky, as a reminder that the pursuit of learning continues iv Abstract This thesis addresses the fundamental and interrelated questions of truth and being, which have occupied Western philosophical thought since the time of the Ancient Greeks, giving particular attention to how they relate to works of art. More specifically, it examines the unique way in which works of arts enable an unfolding of truth to occur, which exceeds the notion of truth as correspondence or correctness. Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological enquiry into the meaning of being, which leads him to an analysis of the question of truth, shows that there is an inseparable connection between being and truth. Furthermore, with his 1930s essay on the work of art, which represents a challenge to the aesthetic tradition and establishes the role of art in facilitating the enactment of truth, Heidegger re-introduces the operations of art to the centre of philosophical thought. Following Heidegger, and hugely influenced by his thinking, Hans-Georg Gadamer, by means of his own philosophical hermeneutics, develops a theory of art’s unique role in opening up an experience of truth which cannot be attained in any other way. And, in their separate ways, both Heidegger and Gadamer find an intrinsic link between the questions of truth, being, and the work of art. This dissertation will explore the tensions in the continuity and discontinuity of their respective reflections on the above concerns. v Disclaimer Of Note: As English is the preferred language for the purpose of writing this thesis, it should be made clear at the outset that I have checked the original German when I have deemed it necessary. However, I have worked entirely from the available English translations, which will be detailed in an attached bibliography and I have not made reference to the German pagination. vi Table of Contents Declaration of Originality .......... ii Acknowledgements ..................... iii Dedication................................... iv Abstract ........................................ v Disclaimer................................... vi Epigraph ...................................... x Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter One: Heidegger’s Phenomenological Investigation of ‘Truth [Wahrheit]’ and ‘Being [Sein]’ .............................................................................................................. 13 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 13 1.2 Dasein’s Manner of Existing in the World ................................................................. 15 1.3 Dasein, as a Social Being ............................................................................................ 17 1.4 Dasein; in the Mode of Care ....................................................................................... 19 1.5 The Self of Everyday Existence .................................................................................. 23 1.6 Being-in [In-Sein] ....................................................................................................... 29 1.7 ‘State of Mind’: Attunement [Befindlichkeit] ............................................................. 30 1.8 Fear: As a Mode of Attunement [Befindlichkeit] ........................................................ 31 1.9 Understanding; Projecting Possibilities ...................................................................... 33 1.10 Discourse [Rede] and Language [Sprache] ............................................................... 39 1.11 Understanding, Being, and Truth .............................................................................. 42 1.12 Traditional Understanding of Truth .......................................................................... 45 1.12 (a) Ernst Tugendhat’s Critique of Heidegger..................................................... 51 vii 1.13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 55 Chapter Two: Enquiry into the Essence of Truth .............................................................. 57 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 57 2.2 Enquiry into the Essence of Truth ............................................................................... 60 2.3 Distinguishing Un-truth from Truth ............................................................................ 65 2.4 The Meaning of Accordance ....................................................................................... 66 2.5 Freedom ...................................................................................................................... 70 2.6 Letting-be: Concealing ................................................................................................ 71 2.7 Errancy: Forgetfulness of the Mystery........................................................................ 73 2.7 (a) Friedländer’s Critique of Heidegger’s Concept of Truth ............................... 76 2.8 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 78 Chapter Three: Heidegger’s Enquiry into the Question of Truth and Being; as Manifested in the Work of Art ................................................................................. 80 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 80 3.2 Earlier and Later Versions of ‘The Origin of the Work of Art’ .................................. 83 3.3 The Work-being [Werksein] of the Work of Art ......................................................... 86 3.4 Truth; Manifested in Art ............................................................................................. 90 3.5 The ‘Thingly’ Element of the Artwork ....................................................................... 92 3.6 Equipmentality; Serviceability; Reliability ................................................................. 96 3.7 The Greek Temple: The God Within ........................................................................ 102 3.8 The Question of Aesthetics ....................................................................................... 104
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