Abstract

This essay discusses Heidegger’s interpretation of autobiographical narration in his lecture on Basic Problems of Phenomenology (WS 1919/20) as an alternative conception of authenticity. A focused comparison between Heidegger’s early understanding of the ‘narrated self’ and the analysis of the call of conscience in Being and Time shows that the most problematic aspects of Heidegger’s later idea of authenticity result from a distinct isolation of the authentic self, which is specific for his conception of authenticity since the mid-twenties. At last, the article intends to demonstrate that Heidegger’s early idea of an original self-understanding is close to current philosophical theories which assume a holistic idea of authenticity and point out a strong relation between authenticity and narrativity.