INAUTHENTICITY
Inauthenticity for Heidegger

Glen L. Sherman, in his article, ‘Martin Heidegger’s Concept of Authenticity: A Philosophical Contribution to Student Affairs Theory’ (2009), summarizes Heidegger’s notion of inauthenticity as the absorption into das man (translated as the-they).

To understand inauthenticity it is important to understand the circumstances into which Dasein finds itself. Sherman (2009) writes that, for Heidegger human being (Dasein) first and foremost find itself situated in a world which has facticity. Facticity is accepting the fact that there are boundaries within which freedom can be practised. Dasein is thrown into the world, meaning that it is always within some background supplied by a particular time, social environment, and culture into which one is born. However, within these defined limits, there is a possibility of freedom to make choices. To put it another way, as a thrown being, Dasein is shoved into a set of circumstances, and freedom lies in making a choice to accept and embrace that thrown possibility. This realization is the final step toward an authentic self. Initial realization or the motivation (as discussed in the section on ‘death’) is supplied by the anxiety death puts Dasein into.