Heidegger’s Conception of Authenticity and its Tie to Passion and Fullness: Awake!

Abstract

In his book, Being and Time, Martin Heidegger explores the meaning of authentic existence and how to avoid inauthenticity. In order to live an authentic lifestyle, Heidegger stresses that one must accept her temporality; listen to her own conscience; and act with resoluteness while straying from idle talk, curiosity, and ambiguity, which constitute inauthenticity. This paper ties together Heidegger’s Being and Time with Salinger’s Franny and Zooey by showing that Salinger’s characters Franny and Zooey are two characters who illuminate the challenges of living an authentic lifestyle. Though an authentic Being proves arduous and difficult to animate in a highly inauthentic world, Franny and Zooey stress that inauthentic living leads to emptiness, which shows that striving for an authentic Dasein is worthwhile. With much self-evaluation and an openness to an inner call of passion alongside a willingness to listen and act, this paper concludes that Franny and Zooey proves that authenticity is not only possible, but also exemplifies that it is the only way to live a full and beautiful life.