Things and their distance

Abstract

Philosophy is founded on the rejection of transparency. It denies the value of self-evidence, and it is this gesture of denial that first of all distinguishes it from the sciences. For that reason, a work of philosophy does not begin by stating self-evident facts, and even when it pretends to do so, that is not at all what is going on. This means, however, that commencing a work of philosophy is a challenge, for author and reader alike. In the Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel begins by citing one reason why philosophical beginnings are problematic – because they have to state in abstract form what can be properly stated only concretely, in the process of its in-depth exposition. Yet there is a great abundance of other factors complicating the entry into a philosophical work. It would not be mistaken to place all of those under the umbrella term ‘context’, although they are anything but identical. It is a problem of context, for example, that a reader has to be familiar in advance with an author’s philosophical background in order to avoid misreading even their most simple and apparently self-evident statements. It is also a problem of context that an author cannot afford to begin by stating in direct terms the ‘point’ or significance of their project, at the very least, for economic reasons – such a meta-endeavour would force one to write a second book ahead of the first. These and other examples, for which there is no room here, all apply to other types of texts as well, but are most pronounced in the case of philosophy. The present paper aims to investigate the meaning Heidegger, throughout his work, attributed to distance. It will go beyond the explication of Heidegger, however, to outline how a positive concept of distance, drawn from his thinking, can be used to address concrete issues of our everyday existence. In this way, it will make a case for Heidegger’s continued relevance in the 21st century.