Martin Heidegger (1926)

A comparative analysis with the CoD

I. Abstract

Martin Heidegger’s fundamental ontology posits that the meaning of Being is found in the existential analysis of Dasein—the human way of being, characterized by its pre-reflective understanding and care for its own existence. As mentioned in Methodology, this comparative assessment employs an Ontological Model Assessment Framework (OMAF) to systematically juxtapose this view with the Conference of Difference (CoD) model. The OMAF reveals a fundamental divergence on the criterion of the manner-of-existence, highlighting the CoD's distinctive capacity to ground a dynamic, relational ontology without relying on a privileged existential subject like Dasein. Where Heidegger’s analysis remains anthropocentric, the CoD provides a universal, non-anthropic principle applicable to all existents, from quantum phenomena to ecological systems. This comparison strengthens the CoD thesis by demonstrating its broader explanatory scope and its ability to resolve the problem of universalizing existential structures.

II. Overview of Heidegger’s Fundamental Ontology

Emerging in the early 20th century, Martin Heidegger’s project in Being and Time was a radical re-opening of the 'Question of Being', which he argued had been forgotten or reduced to a study of beings by the Western metaphysical tradition. His core principle is that to understand Being (Sein), one must first analyze the unique entity for whom its own Being is an issue: Dasein (literally, 'being-there'). Dasein’s essence lies in its existence; it is defined not by what it is, but by how it is. Its primary manner-of-existence is 'Being-in-the-world', a unitary phenomenon of engaged, practical concern (Sorge) with the equipmental context of its environment, rather than a detached, theoretical gaze. A key mechanism is the ontological difference between Being (Sein) and beings (Seiendes), where Being is the prior condition that enables beings to manifest as what they are. Dasein is the 'clearing' or site where this disclosure happens.

In Martin Heidegger: a CRUP-OMAF case study, its ontology is assessed as follows:

• primacy-of-existence: Dasein is the privileged entity for whom its own Being is an issue; the meaning of Being itself is disclosed through Dasein's existential structures. Without Dasein, Heidegger questions whether there is Being at all.
• manner-of-existence: Dasein's manner is existential—it is defined by its how rather than its what. Its primary mode is 'Being-in-the-world', a unitary phenomenon of engaged, practical concern (Sorge), characterized by temporality and projective understanding.
• relationship-between-multiplicity-and-unity: Unity is found in the holistic structure of 'Being-in-the-world', a relational totality of significance woven together by Dasein's cares. The diverse entities within the world (tools, people, possibilities) are gathered into a unified meaningful whole through Dasein's projective understanding.

Framed by the OMAF, Heidegger’s model posits a specific primacy-of-existence: the meaning of Being itself is dependent on the existential structures of a particular being, Dasein. This establishes a foundational, albeit circumscribed, relationality, as the world and its inhabitants are disclosed through Dasein’s projective understanding.

III. Overview of the CoD

The Conference of Difference (CoD) model claims that, as a 'condition of being', existence is, by extension, a 'process of declaring together of action to be'. This condition: 'process of declaring together' can itself be described as a conference of difference: a 'condition of bearing together' transforming the 'condition of bearing apart'. Logically, every conference is of difference as every difference is born of conference. Critically, this is not a causal circle but a constitutive one: neither term precedes the other; each is intelligible only through the other.^[1] Therefore, the conference of difference is irreducible in and of itself and thus the process primitive of existence.

In the Conference of Difference: a CRUP-OMAF case study, its ontology is assessed as follows:

• On primacy-of-existence: The CoD reveals primacy, not in substance of entities but, in the relational process itself: the conference of difference—relation precedes relata. Entities' are discerned as stabilized patterns within this ongoing process. As declared in Koan 10.1, 'all existence is a conference of difference'. Relation is not something that happens between discerned entities but rather the process primitive that transforms existence itself.
• On manner-of-existence: The manner-of-existence is fundamentally conferential and transformative. Thus, being: 'action to be' is a continuous, dynamic process of 'bearing together' and 'bearing apart' – a constant negotiation that defines the 'condition of being' that is existence. 'All existence transforms via binding, not freedom' (Koan 30.7).
• On the relationship-between-multiplicity-and-unity: Unity is an immanent and continuous achievement of the conference of difference itself. Koan 80.1 frames this as a universal reciprocity that moves toward equilibrium—a self-organizing principle inherent to existence itself.

IV. Comparison

Criterion 1: Primacy-of-Existence

The OMAF assessment identifies a critical divergence on what holds ontological primacy. - -

• Heidegger’s Position: For Heidegger, the primacy-of-existence is granted to Dasein. The human way of being is the necessary locus for the disclosure and meaning of Being itself. Without Dasein, he famously questions, 'is there Being?' The world and its inhabitants derive their intelligibility from their relational involvement within Dasein’s horizon of care.
• CoD’s Position: The CoD radically decentralizes this primacy. It locates it in the impersonal, universal process of the 'conference of difference'. Existence is not primordially dependent on a human subject but is the active, ongoing 'declaring together' of all differences, human or otherwise.
• Interpretive Analysis: This difference is foundational. Where Heidegger posits a privileged existential subject as primary, the CoD’s insistence on a subject-less relational process allows it to account for the reality and dynamism of the non-human world—from quantum fields to biological evolution—without rendering them secondary or derivative of human understanding. The CoD suggests that Dasein is a particularly rich and complex instance of the conference of difference, not its prerequisite.

Criterion 2: Manner-of-Existence

The OMAF reveals a nuanced alignment with a profound divergence on the fundamental manner-of-existence.

• Heidegger’s Position: Dasein’s manner-of-existence is temporal and projective. It is always 'ahead-of-itself', understanding its present through its futural possibilities and its thrown past. This dynamic, care-filled becoming is the model for a non-static ontology.
• CoD’s Position: The CoD universalizes this dynamism. All existence, not just Dasein, is characterized by a 'process of declaring together'. Its manner-of-existence is inherently transformative, a continuous 'forming beyond' (Koan 100.1). A particle, a thought, or an ecosystem all 'are' only insofar as they are active participants in this conference.
• Interpretive Analysis: Both models champion a process-oriented view over a substance-based one. However, Heidegger confines this dynamic manner to the human sphere, while the CoD sees it as the universal condition. The CoD effectively performs the ontological leap that Heidegger’s focus on Dasein ultimately prevents: it generalizes the existential analytic into a cosmic principle.

Criterion 3: Relationship-Between-Multiplicity-and-Unity

Here, the OMAF identifies the most significant philosophical tension.

• Heidegger’s Position: Unity is found in the structure of 'Being-in-the-world'. The world is a holistic, relational totality of significance woven together by Dasein’s concerns. Multiplicity—the distinct tools, people, and possibilities within the world—is gathered into a unified meaningful whole through Dasein’s projective understanding.
• CoD’s Position: The CoD posits that unity and multiplicity are co-emergent and inseparable within the 'conference of difference'. The 'bearing together' is the unification, while the 'bearing apart' is the multiplicity. There is no prior unity (like a world) that then contains differences; unity is the active, continual achievement of conferencing differences. As Koan 100.6 states: 'Without difference, there is nothing to relate to; without relation, no potential for transformation—no being'.
• Interpretive Analysis: This is where the CoD’s distinctive capacity is thrown into sharpest relief. Heidegger’s world, for all its relationality, is still a unified horizon for Dasein. The CoD offers a more radical relationality where unity is never a given horizon but is perpetually generated from the interplay of differences themselves. It grounds relationality without a prior, encompassing unity, making it a truly flat yet deeply interconnected ontology.

V. Implications

The central philosophical lesson from this confrontation is that an ontology can be fully dynamic and relational without being anthropocentric. Heidegger’s great achievement was to re-orient philosophy toward existence as a participatory, temporal event. However, his model remains tethered to the human subject as the exclusive site of ontological disclosure. The CoD, by contrast, liberates this dynamism, proposing that the 'conference of difference' is the universal constant expression (Koan 10.3) within which Dasein itself arises. This comparison strengthens the case for the CoD by demonstrating its ability to solve a core problem in Heidegger’s system: the difficulty of extending existential structures to non-human entities without reducing them to mere objects present-at-hand. The CoD provides a consistent metaphysical framework that applies with equal rigor to the being of a stone, a photon, and a human being, thereby opening a new line of inquiry into a truly general ontology of relational processes.

The Gospel of Being

by John Mackay

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