Concealing and Concealment in Heidegger

Abstract

The self‐concealing of being is a primary preoccupation of Heidegger's later thought, but neither Heidegger nor his interpreters have made clear precisely what it is. In this paper, I identify the self‐concealing of being as the concealing of the worlding of the world (note: not of the world), which is essential to and simultaneous with that worlding. In order to establish this, I sketch a taxonomy of the various phenomena of concealing and concealment in Heidegger's work by building on Mark Wrathall's four ‘planks’ of unconcealing and concealment. Importantly, I distinguish the procedurally prior concealment (lēthē) that all unconcealing (alētheia) presupposes from the simultaneous concealing (kruptein, kruptesthai) that Heidegger frequently confuses it with. This distinction not only allows us to get clear on what it means to say that being conceals itself but also reveals various confusions and obscurities in Heidegger's own thought as well as in that of his readers.

When Family Don’t Acknowledge: A Hermeneutic Study of the Experience of Kinship Stigma in Community-Dwelling People With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“…Humans tend to be naturally suspicious of anything they do not understand, needing credible evidence of illness to believe it exists (Ali et al, 2000;Dancey, Fox, & Devins, 1999 Family members may, as the general public do, find it more difficult to acknowledge illness in conditions that are usually invisible, including IBD and epilepsy, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome or chronic back pain, and more so when public knowledge about the condition is poor (Jenkin, Koch, & Kralik, 2006). Referring to Heidegger's notions of concealment and unconcealment as relating to truth, Withy (2017) explains that to show up meaningfully is for an entity to be unconcealed as there, rather than not. In unconcealing (revealing) the self, a person with IBD shows themselves to be there, which may suggest availability to some degree of recognition and understanding from others.…”

“…Referring to Heidegger's notions of concealment and unconcealment as relating to truth, Withy (2017) explains that to show up meaningfully is for an entity to be unconcealed as there, rather than not. In unconcealing (revealing) the self, a person with IBD shows themselves to be there, which may suggest availability to some degree of recognition and understanding from others.…”

6. Translating Theory

“…Bei Dao's appeal to Heidegger's unveiling of the concealed offers both possibilities. Heidegger's concept refers both to the revelation of truth, the world, and being and also, arguably, to the realization that "there are various possible worlds or possible understandings of being" (Withy 2017(Withy , 1497, an idea here represented by the multiple perspectives, or "windows," on the moon. While Bei Dao's translation seems to violate the meaning of Pasternak's Russian text, it preserves Pasternak's commitment to metonymy, a commitment that is actually embodied by the combination of both Fei Ye's and Bei Dao's translations.…”

The elephant in the room

“…Bei Dao's appeal to Heidegger's unveiling of the concealed offers both possibilities. Heidegger's concept refers both to the revelation of truth, the world, and being and also to the realization that “there are various possible worlds or possible understandings of being,” an idea here represented by the multiple perspectives, or “windows,” on the moon (Withy, ). While Bei Dao's translation seems to violate the meaning of Pasternak's Russian text, it preserves Pasternak's commitment to metonymy, a commitment that is actually embodied by the combination of both Fei Ye's and Bei Dao's translations.…”