Martin Heidegger (1889-1976), German philosopher, generally acknowledged as one of the most important thinkers of the 20. century. In his principal work, Sein und Zeit (Being and Time) from 1927, Heidegger inquired into the basic structures of human existence and the peculiarly human way of experiencing the world. The aim of this investigation was to reveal the foundation of all human interpretations and Heidegger became an important contributer to the tradition of hermeneutics (i. e. theory of interpretation). But he was also inspired by the Danish existential philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and he became heavily influential upon the French Existentialism, notably Jean-Paul Sartre, thus playing a central role in the tradition of existential philosophy.
The mentioning of Heidegger in the context of Devils & Dust is not accidental. Springsteen has never enlarged upon something so different from the dudes and little pretties of his youth as dead philosophers but at its core his songwriting bears an obvious affinity to existential philosophy. Thus, Springsteen's songwriting has always been marked by the emphasis it puts on the concept of action and the seriousness with wich it depicts the existence of individual persons. Its focal point is the making of decisions in fateful situations. Kierkegaard and Heidegger made a philosophical concept out of the moment when someone rises above the constant flow of distractions to face their own being as responsible agents. Springsteen's music can be seen as the music of that exact moment.
Now, this may all seem very positive, and in many ways it certainly is. But there is almost always a price to pay and a vice corresponding to each virtue. To attain the sort of mental health and ethical accountability represented by Springsteen and existentialism alike you may have to accept some pretty oldfahioned concepts which could easily be disputed - like the concepts of self, authencity and freedom of choice. If you can't attach any meaning to such notions the basic idea of taking your life seriously will be hard to maintain. Furthermore, it seems to be vital to the project that there is a dividing line between getting things right and getting things wrong, i. e. between winners and losers, between finding yourself and loosing yourself. Existential philosophy probably inherits such a division from Christianity and it is blatantly pronounced in Springsteen's songwriting (from "it's a town full of losers" to Rainey Williams' mother who "got lost in the days"). My point is not that such concepts are necessarily wrong or even dispensable for a sane person. But is seems fair to say that scepticism about them are not among the virtues of e. g. Heidegger or Springsteen.
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