Being and Time raises the problem of "authenticity," that is, the potentiality or otherwise for mortal "Dasein" to exist "fully" enough that it might actually understand being. Heidegger is clear throughout the book that nothing makes certain that "Dasein" is capable of this understanding. Finally, this question of the authenticity of individual "Dasein" cannot be separated from the "historicality" of "Dasein". On the one hand, "Dasein", as mortal, is "stretched along" between birth and death, and thrown into its world, that is, thrown into its "possibilities", possibilities which "Dasein" is charged with the task of assuming. On the other hand, "Dasein's" access to
Heather Douglas (philosopher) Heather Douglas (philosopher) Heather Douglas (born March 21, 1969) is a philosopher of science best known for her work on the role of values in science, science policy, the importance of science for policymaking, and the history of philosophy of science. Douglas is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University. She formerly held the Waterloo Chair in Science and Society at the University of Waterloo, and taught at University of Pittsburgh, University of Tennessee, and University of Puget Sound. She is the author of "Science, Policy, and the Value Free Ideal", an influential book on the