Abstract

In the following essay I would like to clarify the connection between philosophical anthropology and fundamental questions in ethics with regard to the subject of negativity. When I first began a systematic analysis of the presuppositions of moral praxis, I came upon the problem of the basic conceptual framework for ethics. The pursuit of these questions brought about a radicalization in my thinking about ethics, which in turn led me to inquire into the fundamental question of philosophy. I want to present this path of reflection, using a discussion of Hegel and Heidegger as a background, in four steps: first, the fundamental question of philosophy; second, the ground of philosophy; third, an anthropological analysis of temporal finitude ; and fourth, the practical-philosophical meaning of negativity.