Date:          Wed, 1 Jul 1998 7:35:38 EST
Subject:       Re: Mind & Body, One More Time



>The question, a highly idle one I admit, I suppose was if we are to become
>master of our moods (Dasein mastering itself?), are some moods "master
>moods" and other moods "slave moods"? Isn't it a mood, in other words, that
>enables us in a mastery (resolution, integration?) of other moods
>(centrifugal vs. centripetal moods)? If not a mood, then what (a "will"?)?
>
>Best,
>
>Steve C.



Reading the sentence in context helps.  We are refering here to the following 
which is located on page 175 in the Macquarrie transl of B&T:  

"Factically, Dasein can, should, and must, 
through knowledge and will, become master 
of its moods; in certain possible ways of existing, 
this may signify a priority of volition and cognition."

(next sentence:  "Only we must not be misled by this
into denying that ontologically mood is a primordial
kind of Being for Dasein, in which Dasein is disclosed 
to itself *prior to* all cognition and volition, and 
*beyond* their range of disclosure.")

Further on Heidegger indicates that Befindlichkeiten
disclose Dasein in its thrownness and 

"for the most part--
 in the manner of an 
evasive turning-away." 

An evasion from what? my guess is:  its own existence.

Moodedness is Dasein's "locale" in the world, the way it finds
itself always already in the world--thrown in here, so to speak.

The sentence that rides so high this week says to me that
Dasein has a potential and a responsibility to "contain"
itself in its thrownness.  "Mastering" moods may be an unfortunate
choice of translated words --or it may not.  The "mastery" here
may be figuring it out, or it may not.

By way of "mastery" of its moods, Dasein gains disclosure of 
Being-in-the-world as a whole and also directs its attention
to something.  In this way, dasein "submits" (there you go,
Steve, some nice nietzschean & 19th century metaphysics)
to something--ie, directs its attention to, encounters something.

In this discussion, which i think has nothing to do (yet)
with psychological therapy, Heidegger describes the
phenomenon (Befindlichkeit) which is a fundamental, 
ontological structure of Dasein that discloses the world 
to Dasein.  Here he is offering another thinking agst
Husserl's intentionality.  here he is establishing a
temporal structure of dasein that locates the da of the sein
by way of disclosing thrownness.

Only after & thru present-at-hand lenses can we gain 
psychoanalytic benefit from what is here an ontological
discussion of the existentiale of Dasein.

At the level of psychology, for one to not be "master"
of their moods, would make them unaware of their
thrownness, unaware of being-in-the-world as a whole,
unaware of encountering "something."

that's fairly catatonic, if not pure coma...

kindest regards,
henry




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