Being-in-the-void : a Heideggerian analysis of skydiving

Abstract

Philosophy of sport as a field of study brings philosophy and sport together. This can be done in various ways. What I do in this article may seem like a daring project. I let Heidegger, one of the great thinkers of the 20th century, throw light on one specific sport activity—skydiving1. My hope is that some of this light reflects back and illuminates certain aspects of Heidegger’s views. This is not only a daring but also an ambitious project and it may fail. In that respect it resides within the spirit of both Heidegger and skydiving, where daring and failing have not been uncommon2. My focus will be on Heidegger’s early philosophy, primarily Being and Time (12;13;14;15). In his early works Heidegger did not give many examples of phenomenological analysis. When he did, he typically described daily life in a living room, an office, or a workshop. We know that Heidegger was active in sport when he was young and that he was interested in sport all his life3. In his writings, however, there is almost nothing about sport. This does not mean that his early philosophy is irrelevant for an understanding of human involvement in sport. Quite the contrary.