Politics of Dasein and the Tragedy of Dasein in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire

The aim of this essay is to provide a political reading of Dasein that might result into tragedy of Dasein in A Song of Ice and Fire. Politics can be regarded as an element to reach existence and Dasein. The phenomenological methodology that Heidegger introduces rejects all the history of western philosophical tradition. Heidegger believes that the metaphysical thinking that has dominated western philosophy since Plato to Nietzsche is insufficient for the study of being. The western history is depicted in the story of A Song of Fire and Ice. Applying these assumptions to the context of Westeros, it becomes clear that ruling and domination over is the only way to appoint the matter of existence. In a realm where every lord and lady nurtures his or her own dream of sitting on the Iron Throne, the nation’s notion of unity and democracy degenerates into a sort of oligarchic dogma that treats the lives of ordinary people as dispensable means to the ultimate end: total power. In such a state, an idealistic politician would find little to no room for advocating purely positive values like equality or justice. Indeed, as he often finds out soon enough, the profits of the elite often rely directly on the losses of the public.

Keywords:

Heidegger , politics , Dasein , Sentimentality , A Song of Fire and Ice Novels