How to Overcome the World: Henry, Heidegger, and the Post-Secular

Area of Science:

• Phenomenology
• Philosophy of Existence
• Metaphysics

Background:

• The concept of the 'secular' interprets the world as space, time, and age for clear presence.
• A 'post-secular' perspective requires a distinct interpretation of the world.
• Philosophical engagement with the 'world' (kosmos) is central to understanding presence and phenomenality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To interpret and compare Heidegger's and Henry's engagements with the theme of 'world'.
• To investigate how the world is presented as a phenomenon through disclosive moods and life's self-revelation.
• To inquire into the inconspicuous means by which experiences of the world's neutrality, clarity, and obviousness yield phenomenological description.

Main Methods:

• Comparative philosophical analysis of Martin Heidegger's 'Heraclitus Seminars' and Jean-Luc Nancy's 'Phenomenology of Life'.
• Phenomenological interpretation of key concepts such as 'world', 'presence', 'disclosive moods', and 'self-revelation of life'.
• Examination of the relationship between the world's phenomenality and the experience of its neutrality and hiddenness.

Main Results:

• Both Heidegger and Henry present the world as a phenomenon accessible through specific experiential means.
• Disclosive moods and the self-revelation of life are identified as crucial pathways to the world's presentation.
• The neutrality and obviousness of the world, paradoxically, arise from its hiddenness, demanding phenomenological attention.

Conclusions:

• The world's phenomenality is accessible through affective states and the unfolding of life.
• Understanding the 'post-secular' requires a nuanced view of how the world appears and is experienced.
• The hidden aspects of the world's neutrality are key to its phenomenological description.