The Event

V. The Event: The Vocabulary of Its Essence

V. Th e eV en T Th e Voca bu la ry oF I Ts essence1 Regarding the introduction to The event 1. This vocabulary consists of the German term for “event” and ten other terms linguistically connected to it. The root common to them all is eignen, “be proper to,” “appertain.” It is not possible to carry out the same play on words in an English translation. The terms are: das Ereignis event das Ereignen appropriation die Vereignung expropriation die Übereignung consignment die Zueignung arrogation die Aneignung adoption die Eigentlichkeit properness die Eignung eventuation die Geeignetheit appropriateness die Enteignung dispropriation das Eigentum domain of what is proper.—Trans. This page intentionally left blank 184. The event The vocabulary of its essence The following delimitation is to make less ambiguous the otherwise still-fluctuating lexicon which must constantly maintain a transitional breadth. The event expresses the explicitly self-clearing inceptuality of the beginning. The inaugural truth of beyng preserves in itself, as inceptual unification, the inaugural unity of the appropriating and the appropriated . The word “inceptual” always means: appropriated out of the beginning and consigned to the inceptuality. But it does not mean incipient in the sense of mere starting. Being does not start and stop, nor does it exist “perpetually” in the duration of beings. Being begins and does so essentially : it is the appropriating beginning. The event lights up the clearing of the beginning in such a way that the beginning does not merely emerge and bring to appearance along with it something inceptual, as in the first beginning, but, instead, such that the beginning, qua the beginning, is consigned to the truth of its inceptuality, a truth which is therefore illuminated. The appropriation is intrinsically counter-turning out of the inceptual emergence, and the latter is at the same time a downgoing into the abyss. In emerging, the emergence differentiates itself from the things that come to appearance in its openness, without this difference as such already co-appearing in its essential belongingness to the beginning. The event is of the difference, but it keeps the difference and its essence concealed. The inceptual (the appropriating eventuation) event of the difference, however, the departure, keeps itself utterly concealed. Nevertheless, in the self-clearing event the difference with respect to beings comes into the clearing, and above all the clearing of the departure eventuates into the downgoing of the beginning. Thereby the difference also comes into its full essential occurrence for the first time, since the clearing is proper to the difference and in no way merely depends on it as a way of becoming known. The event turns toward the abyss the concealment in the departure and unitarily turns toward what is grounded, namely, beings, the clearing in the difference. Out of this event-related turning, the event is counterturning . This counter-turning conceals the essential belonging of the nihilation, i.e., of the inceptual (not the null) nothingness, to beyng. In the difference, in the departure, and in their eventrelated unity, there essentially occurs the event of nihilation. Nihilation is unfathomably distinct from all “negativity” and “negation,” for negativity (in Hegel’s sense) belongs to beingness and negation applies to beings. Thus “negativity” and “negation” fall on the side of beingness and beings and do not determine what is inceptually nihilating in the differentiating departure. Thought in terms of the history of beyng, both are consequences of the still-hidden event. The difference which is not yet sheltered in the abyss by way of departure and which, simply in emerging, radiates in the first beginning—this difference pervades the essence of metaphysics. But if the difference as such, i.e., at the same time in the departure, is cleared, there eventuates the twisting free of the difference into the abyss. Out of the twisting free, the overcoming of metaphysics is disposed, and toward it the consummation of metaphysics and its demise are already moving, to be sure without being known by metaphysics. In contrast, the first consummation of metaphysics in Hegel’s absolute idealism believes the truth of beings has been attained and secured; the second consummation in the metaphysics of the will to power takes the 128 V. The event. The vocabulary of its essence [148–149] revaluation of all values as a new start, whereas it merely introduces, and in all essentials grounds, the unconditional demise of metaphysics at its end. At the...