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The Epistemological Structure of Angst - Heidegger’s Concept of Angst and the Buddhist Vijñapti-matra Concept of Four Aspects of Theory of Cognition -

An Hui jeong 1

1성균관대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

This paper attempts to define and establish the cognitive structure ofangst through Heidegger’s concept of angst and the Buddhist Vijñapti-matraconcept of Four Aspects of Theory of Cognition. Angst is a fundamentalphenomenon that arises from nihilism (das Nichten). This fundamentalfeeling reveals to the being that he exists not only next to but alsowithin the world in which he lives. Buddhism manifests the overall structurethrough raising questions such as “Is the subject perceived objectively?”This is the Buddhist Vijñapti-matra’s reflection on its perceptionof obsession and pain. In an ontological aspect, these two theories arethe structural analysis that attempt to reveal the overall phenomenon. First of all, the Buddhist Vijñapti-matra concept of Four Aspects ofTheory of Cognition is applied as the initial stage in which angst is perceivedby the being. The conclusion drawn is as follows: the feeling ofangst (mental phenomena) à perceiving oneself to be anxious (discrimina-ting such phenomena)à questioning why one is feeling angst (the powerthat discriminates) à perceiving oneself that is questioning the why (theproof or assurance of that power). Second, the paper examines the conditionof the inauthentic being that experiences angst and investigates themeaninglessness of the routines of everyday life that emerges fromnihilism. Through such exploration of futile delusions, the paper strives toreveal the inauthentic process that occurs within the epistemological structureof angst. Third, the paper examines the effect on the development ofangst when there is a change in the method of perception from cognitionto in-depth awareness.

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