Nascita e metafisica

Largely removed from the philosophical debate, birth is the “life form” that precedes all the others. We cannot assist at it – the “metaphysical paradox” of an “unavoidably present absence” (Merleau-Ponty). Hegel gets close to the phenom- enon by clarifying it at three levels: the status of the unborn child in the womb, actual birth as an “unheard jump”, and the spiritual and ethical “second birth.” For Heidegger, factual Being-there (das faktische Dasein) exists as being-born (gebürtig), and is, therefore, open to death.