Ontic Proximity and the Fall of Sleep: Fink, Heidegger, and Nancy

This text explores the philosophical dimensions of sleep through the lens of philosopher Eugen Fink, delving into the existential implications of sleep. Fink introduces the concept of ontic proximity, suggesting a unity in the dissolution of binaries during sleep and portraying it as a profound encounter with the anonymous realm of the world. Drawing from Heraclitus, Fink depicts sleep as a fall from individuation, a departure from human consciousness characterized by darkness, obscurity, and a loss of verticality. Sleep, in Fink’s view, signifies a communion with nature and a departure from human consciousness. Through ontic proximity, sleep unveils existence’s essential vulnerability and its immersion in the rhythms of life and death.