Heidegger: The effect of our decisions

During our lives, we have to make countless decisions. Each of these decisions shapes our future and the further course of our lives. In this article, I will go into more detail about the course of life with the help of a quote from Martin Heidegger.

„Every man is born as many men and dies as a single one.“

Martin Heidegger

How does Heidegger mean that every human being is born as many human beings? When we arrive new in the world, we are almost endless potential. Each of us could become anything. Whether an astronaut, a fireman, a housewife, a musician, or someone who finds a cure for cancer. But with every day we live through, the possibilities dwindle.

For example, if we find ourselves studying business at 20, it is unlikely that we will become an astronaut (but of course not impossible - "To infinity" and so on) or find a cure for cancer. Another example would be, if you do a lot of athletics in your youth, that it is unlikely to become a professional tennis player later.

The choices we make open new doors and close others. The doors that are closed are the "many people" we could have become, but did not. At the end of our lives, we have walked a single specific path. This single path we have taken is the metaphor for the one person we die as.

Of course, the doors we open and close are not only career options, but also how we treat our fellow human beings and the planet changes who we are. Whether we show a lot of charity or prefer to walk the journey of life alone. Whether we prefer to plant trees rather than carve our names on them. Whether we learn an instrument or prefer to listen to music. Every single decision we make with every step we take will define the person we will have been at the end of our days.

Heidegger noticed that the endless possibilities that each of us has in front of us at the beginning of our lives are something special. That it is important to keep in mind how much meaning the deeds we do every day have, because they will say at the end of our days which one man have been.

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