Stress as an Original Possibility of Existence. An Interpretation of Stress from Heidegger’s Perspective

Abstract

This article aims to make a philosophical interpretation of the phenomenon of stress based on Heidegger’s thought. Firstly, I present a general review of the scientific concept of stress as well as the main theories about it. Secondly, the concept of stress in Heidegger’s thought is analyzed and I propose to understand it as a load (Belastung) or requests (Beanspruchungen) that are directed to the Dasein in its openness to the entities of the world. Finally, this shows that the approach to the phenomenon of stress from Heidegger’s phenomenological-existential perspective allows us to overcome the causal and physiological explanations that do not consider stress as a fundamental way of being typical of human beings in so far as they are a Dasein.