Unthematized Background. Knowledge, Faith, and Feeling as a Problem in Post-Heidegger's Philosophy, APVV-25-0430

About the project

Unthematized Background. Knowledge, Faith, and Feeling as a Problem in Post-Heidegger's Philosophy, APVV-25-0430

Principal investigator: prof. Mgr. et Mgr. Andrej Démuth, PhD.

Research Department: 060399 - Other disciplines of philosophical sciences, ethics, religious studies and theology sciences

Implementation: 2026 - 2030

After Black Notebooks, Martin Heidegger’s legacy has become the subject of intensified debate and controversy. It is evident that a comprehensive understanding of his philosophy requires a critical engagement not only with his concepts, but also with his methodological assumptions and personal attitudes, as well as an examination of their relevance for contemporary philosophy, culture, and the sciences. The project focuses on a critical re-evaluation of the largely non-thematized background of Heidegger’s thought, with the aim of rethinking the possible unity of knowledge, faith, feeling, and action. Rather than approaching Heidegger primarily as a historical figure, the research investigates the implicit presuppositions underlying cognition, belief, aesthetic experience, moral judgment, and communal life, and explores their philosophical potential in post-Heideggerian contexts. The research concentrates on four interrelated thematic areas. First, it examines Heidegger’s critique of the dominance of rationality in accounts of human existence, emphasizing that knowledge is inseparable from its background of moods, openness, and pre-understandings, and functions as a mode of being-in-the-world rather than an autonomous goal. Second, it analyzes conception of art not as mere aesthetic experience but as a site of the disclosure of truth, including its implications for art theory, architecture, and cultural criticism. Third, it addresses the implicit theological dimension of Heideggerian thought, focusing on the relation between secularization, transcendence, and value in modernity, including the claim that “only a god can save us.” Finally, the project investigates being-with-others and its consequences for understanding action, responsibility, and justice. By rethinking the possible unity of knowing, believing, feeling, and acting, the project aims to contribute critically to current debates on post-Heideggerian philosophy and contemporary cultural challenges.