Beyond the realm of being: Heidegger's "Nothing" and Simondon's "pre-individual" as two ontological strategies of the 21st century

In any attempt to comprehend the fundamental basis of existence, we are confronted with a choice that sets the vector for all subsequent thought. Two different strategies offer us a way to leave the familiar foundation of substantial being. We are talking about the projects of Heidegger and Simondon. At the center of their attention are the concepts of "Nothing" and "pre-individual." At first glance, they are almost identical. Both concepts refer to what lies beyond the finished structure or completed individual. Yet, here lies a chasm. Heidegger sees "Nothing" as an ontological abyss, where the familiar order of being loses all support. Access to this experience opens up through anxiety. It is in this experience that all connections with the world of actual being collapse. A different logic prevails in Simondon's thinking. The pre-individual is not a lack but an inexhaustible source. It is an abundance of affective forces and virtual tensions. The research is based on the combination of two approaches: a comparative analysis and a historical-philosophical reconstruction. This combination reveals a fundamental divergence between the thinkers in their interpretation of temporality. Heidegger defends the idea of time as the formative beginning of the individual. Simondon, on the other hand, denies the existence of such a beginning. He insists on processuality, within which time only arises. This opposition captures the attention of Deleuze. He subjects Heidegger's "Nothing" to critical reassessment. In his opinion, this concept lacks distinctive power. At the same time, Deleuze and Stiegler pick up Simondon's line of the pre-individual. However, they transform it in their own way. The significance of this work is dictated by the contemporary demand for non-substantial theories of being. The currents of new materialism and post-humanist studies give a special impulse to this interest. The comparison of these two fundamental approaches possesses undeniable heuristic value. The first approach employs an apophatic technique of silence. The second works as a powerful force for the generation of new states. Their internal incompatibility does not prevent them from jointly setting the vectors for the development of philosophy. Heidegger constructs an existential vertical. Simondon develops a horizontal of multiple modes of existence. The perspective of their connection, outlined through Deleuze and Stiegler, opens new planes of being. The resulting picture of the world removes the limitations of anthropocentrism and correlationalism.