Disclaimer: Heidegger still confuses me somewhat, so I may have gotten something wrong here. Please let me know!
When Dasein gives itself over to das Man, it assimilates into the "They." Instead of acting as an individual, one defaults to the guidelines provided by the They, adhering to those norms, thinking in that same line of thought, trying to remain close to the average. It is in reference to the They when someone says something like "one should get eight hours of sleep per day" or "they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Because such statements are attributed to the ever-ambiguous They, whoever speaks them is no longer responsible for their meaning or accuracy. In these ways, the individual disappears inside the They, and loses that which makes him Dasein.
I feel that this is an occurrence that is all too prevalent in our society. Individuals do not wish to be seen as such, but would rather submerge themselves within the whole of society. Even on a smaller scale, everyone feels the need to attribute themselves to a certain group or label, as though they have no self unless it can be defined by others. Deviation from the norm is looked upon with disdain, dissuading others from possible future deviations. Adherence to popular trends in slang, fashion, music, etc. is to be admired. Every individual becomes a part of the They. As Heidegger describes it, this way of living is inauthentic.
To return to authenticity and Dasein, one needs to free himself from the constraints that das Man places upon him, and regain control of and responsibility for his choices. This would also return the significance that human experience has been robbed of due to the "leveling-down" found in publicness.
However, it is foolish to think that anyone can fully and interminably avoid das Man. If everyone was Dasein all the time, would society as we know it even be able to exist? Nevertheless, the extent to which some immerse themselves in das Man is far too great, when the most significant experience is had through Dasein.
I think that society is able to exist with Da-sein and Das Man. Although there is a tendency for individuals to submerge themselves into groups, there are individuals that prefer to deviate from the norm. Society has evolved because of such individuals. I think that without Da-sein, civilization would not have evolved. We would be comfortable in the average norm, which discourages change. Hence, I think that although there is a desire to submit to Das Man, there is a greater desire to reman Da-sein.
ReplyDeleteWhile individuals now do assimilate into Das Man way more than i think they should, I find it curious as to how between the De-Sein and Das Man in social media, such as facebook and twitter. Individuals today, in outwardly social settings and face-to-face interaction, seem to be more subservient to the Das Man, whereas in social networking sites, they appear to be incredibly self-interested and worried only about what affects them directly. What sparked this phenomena of being Das Man while in public, but incredibly Da-Sein and ego-centric when online? Perhaps it is the lack on accountability online, as it is somewhat impersonal with the appearance of real interaction, compared to the actual interactions with more serious repercussions of real-life interaction that cause people to act this way
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