Friday 23 August 2013

Thought 4: Habitation and World Mastery

 

(I) Habitation 
Means Habituation

Men inhabit the world. 

(—Hannah Arendt, 
The Human Condition
§.1)

What does this mean?

It means

(1) 

that we inhabit the world. 
The world is a matter of habit. 
We are in the world in habituation.

(2) 

that the world inhabits us. 
The world is in us who inhabit it. 
Without us there is no world.

It follows that the world we inhabit 
—and inhabits us—habituates us.

(II) Case of a 
Thoughtless World

If the world we inhabit 
—and inhabits us— 
is thoughtless, 
then this 
thoughtlessness 
habituates us 
thoughtlessly.

In such a world
because 
thoughtlessness 
is so habitual, 
the inhabitants 
are habituated 
thereto, that 
thoughtlessness is.

Can habituation 
be overcome?

Not in so far as 
we inhabit the world.

(III) Thoughtful 
Habituation

Habituation, 
in a thoughtless world, 
can nonetheless be 
thoughtful.

In thoughtful habituation, 
the world's thoughtlessness 
no longer habituates us 
thoughtlessly.

In thoughtful habituation, 
the world's thoughtlessness 
is to us no longer habitual.

How does thoughtful habituation 
differ from thoughtless habituation?

(IV) Mastered and 
Masterful Habituations

In thoughtless habituation 
our habits are thoughtless. 

If the world we inhabit 
—and habituates us— 
is thoughtless, 
our habits become
 thoughtless.

The world masters 
our habits.

In thoughtful habituation,
our habits are thoughtful. 

If the world we inhabit 
—and habituates us— 
is thoughtless, 
our habits 
do not become 
thoughtless.

Our habits master 
the world.

(V) Mastery 
Means Containment

Man is world-forming.  

(—Martin Heidegger, 
The Fundamental Concepts 
of Metaphysics,
§.42)

One might add, following,

(1) 

that man is man and not animal 
(who is world-poor) when his 
habituation is thoughtful, 
for then his habits 
master the world 
and he is 
world-forming. 

He is world-forming 
because his habits 
master the world, i.e. 
his habits contain the world 
but the world does not 
contain his habits.
(Super Man)

(2) 

that man is animal and not man 
(who is world-forming) when his 
habituation is thoughtless, 
for then his habits 
are mastered 
by the world 
and he is 
world-poor. 

He is world-poor 
because the world 
masters his habits, i.e. 
the world contains his habits 
but his habits contain no world.
(Last Man)