This article is structured to investigate the role of tradition within the existential structure of Dasein and to clarify its function in realizing authentic life in Heidegger’s thought. In the fundamental ontology horizon of Being and Time, tradition is not merely a heritage transmitted from the past but a mode of historical facticity into which Dasein is thrown and through which it confronts its possibilities. The main question of this paper is how a thrown human being, situated in the context of tradition, can live authentically. The research method employs conceptual analysis and phenomenological interpretation of the fundamental concepts of thrownness, historicality, resoluteness, and being-toward-death to reveal the relationship between tradition, authenticity, and freedom on an ontological level.
Findings show that the content of authentic life is determined by tradition, and in Heidegger's thought, authenticity and autonomy mean playing a role within the values existing in a tradition. Being truthful to one’s heritage and tradition corresponds to being truthful to one's deepest self. Tradition, as the historical actualization of facticity, embodies both limitation and freedom simultaneously; for in every tradition, inhibitory and enabling aspects coexist. Therefore, Dasein's freedom becomes possible within the boundaries of tradition, understood as the horizon of its own historicity. Authentic life is not a rupture from the past but a form of responsible openness of existence—an openness where Dasein, by embracing thrownness, transforms tradition from historical passivity into the possibility of self-understanding.
Darabi, K. and Rostmi, V. (2025). Exploring the role of tradition in authentic life from Heidegger's perspective. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (), -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2025.70315.4347
MLA
Darabi, K. , and Rostmi, V. . "Exploring the role of tradition in authentic life from Heidegger's perspective", Journal of Philosophical Investigations, , , 2025, -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2025.70315.4347
HARVARD
Darabi, K., Rostmi, V. (2025). 'Exploring the role of tradition in authentic life from Heidegger's perspective', Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (), pp. -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2025.70315.4347
CHICAGO
K. Darabi and V. Rostmi, "Exploring the role of tradition in authentic life from Heidegger's perspective," Journal of Philosophical Investigations, (2025): -, doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2025.70315.4347
VANCOUVER
Darabi, K., Rostmi, V. Exploring the role of tradition in authentic life from Heidegger's perspective. Journal of Philosophical Investigations, 2025; (): -. doi: 10.22034/jpiut.2025.70315.4347
)
Send comment about this article