Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the causes for Heidegger's abandonment of his initial approach to metaphysics and the Being problem as set down in Sein und Zeit. The focal themes are Heidegger's reversal on the grounding of metaphysics and the possibility of understanding Being as Being apart from beings. The study seeks to locate the rationale for Heidegger's reversal on these issues within the finitude of Dasein. The problem of the finitude of Dasein's appropriation of Being is examined against the horizon of time and the essential temporality of Dasein's understanding. The question is approached by tracing Heidegger's connection of metaphysic's possibility in the finite nature of Dasein as transcendence. Subsequently, Dasein's relation to metaphysics is explored in light of the horizons of space, time, and the finitude of Being-in-the-world. From this base, the question is directed to the problem of Dasein's knowledge of Being in connection with the temporality of understanding. Finally, the problem of metaphysics and Being is examined in light of Heidegger's approach to authentic thought. The triad of Being, time, and Dasein is identified as the axiological foundation of the metaphysics problem