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The good life here and now
This paper explores the nature and significance of the temporal character of human existence. I propose a contemporary ethics of time, driven by a sense of discontent about ‘the dominance of the present.’ This dominance conceals various forms of alienation. The paper consists of three parts. In the first part, I discuss four perspectives on time: natural time, clock time, inner-worldly time, and personal time. The second part serves as an intermezzo, illustrating the different ways in which Western history has dealt with fleeting existence. Here, I distinguish between cyclical time, linear time, humanized time, and the contemporary biographical choice. Finally, drawing on Heidegger’s concept of Sein zum Tode and Foucault’s notion of self-care, I propose a way to engage with time that takes both care and responsibility into account on a personal level.