The article examines three senses of the expression “a life of guilt.” The first two are briefly discussed, and the third is developed on the basis of Heidegger’s discussion of Being-guilty in Beingand Time. According to Heidegger, our life is a life of guilt since we, as Dasein, are ontologically guilty. The article develops Heidegger’s transcendental argument according to which the feeling of guilt that arises asa result of a commission or an omission of a particular act is made possible by our essential, or ontological, guilt. The analysis of Heidegger’s view raises the question: how should we livein light of the essential guilt Heidegger identifies? In this context, Sartre’s view is compared to Heidegger’s and is found wanting.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago