Being and Time

Being and Time Plot Summary

Introduction

What does it mean to exist as a human being? Traditional philosophy has often approached this question by examining abstract concepts or reducing humans to objects of scientific study, missing the lived experience of existence itself. The existential-phenomenological approach transforms our understanding by focusing on Dasein—human existence as it is lived from within—revealing that our being is not a fixed substance but a dynamic process of engagement with the world. At the heart of this analysis lies the recognition that human existence is fundamentally temporal. We are not simply present in time like objects; rather, our very being is constituted by temporality. Through careful examination of everyday phenomena—our practical engagement with tools, our being with others, our confrontation with death, and our historical situatedness—this approach uncovers the structures that make human existence possible. By revealing how care, anxiety, and authenticity emerge from our temporal nature, this framework offers not just theoretical insight but a pathway toward a more genuine understanding of ourselves and our possibilities in the world.

Chapter 1: Being-in-the-World as Dasein's Fundamental Structure

Being-in-the-world constitutes the most basic structure of human existence. Unlike traditional philosophical approaches that begin with an isolated subject who must somehow reach out to an external world, this analysis reveals that we are always already involved in a meaningful world. The hyphenated expression "being-in-the-world" indicates that this is a unitary phenomenon—we do not first exist and then enter into relation with the world, but our very existence consists in our involvement with a world of significance and possibilities. This involvement manifests primarily as practical engagement rather than theoretical contemplation. In our everyday activities, we encounter entities not as isolated objects with properties but as equipment integrated into contexts of use. A hammer, for instance, is not first perceived as an object with certain physical characteristics, but as something for hammering within a network of references that includes nails, wood, building projects, and ultimately our own possibilities for being. This ready-to-hand mode of engagement reveals the worldhood of the world—its character as an interconnected totality of significance rather than a collection of present-at-hand objects. The spatial character of being-in-the-world differs fundamentally from geometric space. Dasein's spatiality consists in de-severance (bringing things close in concern) and directionality (orienting itself toward possibilities). A friend across the room may be "closer" to us than the glasses on our nose if our concern is directed toward the friend. This existential spatiality is more primordial than mathematical space and forms the basis from which objective space is derived through a process of abstraction. Consider how differently we experience a familiar environment compared to an unfamiliar one. In our home or workplace, we navigate effortlessly among meaningful contexts—the kitchen for cooking, the office for working, the bedroom for resting. We don't encounter these spaces as neutral containers filled with objects but as regions organized around possibilities for action. When lost in an unfamiliar city, however, this seamless involvement breaks down, and we become explicitly aware of our disorientation. Such experiences reveal the normally invisible structure of being-in-the-world that makes possible our everyday existence. Being-in-the-world also includes being-with-others as an essential structure. We encounter others not primarily as objects or even as other subjects, but as fellow Dasein with whom we share our world. This shared world forms the basis for communication, cooperation, and conflict. Even when physically alone, we exist in relation to others through the cultural practices, tools, and language that bear the imprint of communal existence. The analysis of being-in-the-world thus reveals human existence as fundamentally social, practical, and meaningful—embedded in contexts of significance that precede any theoretical understanding of reality.

Chapter 2: The 'They' and Everyday Modes of Being

The "They" (das Man) constitutes the social dimension of everyday existence—not as an external influence but as a way Dasein itself exists. In our ordinary lives, we understand ourselves and our possibilities primarily through public interpretations that prescribe how "one" should think, feel, and behave. This is not merely conformity to social pressure but a positive structure that provides the shared background against which any understanding becomes possible. The "They" manifests in expressions like "one doesn't do that" or "that's what people think," where the anonymous authority of public opinion shapes our understanding. This everyday mode of existence is characterized by three interconnected phenomena. First, idle talk (Gerede) refers to the way language circulates in everyday discourse, passing along conventional interpretations without genuine understanding. Second, curiosity (Neugier) involves a restless jumping from one novelty to another without truly engaging with anything. Third, ambiguity (Zweideutigkeit) describes the confusion between genuine understanding and superficial familiarity that characterizes public interpretation. Together, these phenomena constitute the "fallenness" of Dasein—its tendency to lose itself in the publicness of the "They." Through the "They," Dasein achieves a tranquilized self-assurance by conforming to what "one" does. The burden of having to choose authentically is relieved as decisions are made based on what is considered proper or normal. The "They" thus disburdens Dasein of responsibility for its existence by providing ready-made interpretations and possibilities. As a result, Dasein's existence becomes characterized by "averageness" and "leveling down," where exceptional possibilities are suppressed in favor of what is accessible to everyone. Consider how this operates in everyday social situations. When deciding what clothes to wear, what music to enjoy, or what opinions to hold on current events, we typically orient ourselves by what "one" does or thinks. We feel uncomfortable when deviating too far from these norms. This is not merely external pressure but an existential structure of our being—we understand ourselves and our possibilities primarily through the lens of public interpretations. The "They" is not something external to Dasein but a way in which Dasein itself exists. Despite its inauthentic character, the "They" serves essential functions in human existence. It provides the shared background of intelligibility that makes communication possible and maintains the stability of social life. Without the public interpretations provided by the "They," Dasein would have no starting point for understanding itself or its world. The challenge for Dasein is not to eliminate the influence of the "They" but to modify its relationship to these public interpretations through an authentic appropriation of its possibilities.

Chapter 3: Care as the Unifying Structure of Dasein

Care (Sorge) constitutes the unified structural whole of Dasein's being. This concept does not refer to worry or concern in the ordinary sense but designates the fundamental way in which human existence is organized. Care encompasses Dasein's practical dealings with equipment (concern), its relations with others (solicitude), and its concern for its own being. As such, it provides the ontological foundation for understanding the unity and wholeness of human existence. The structure of care can be formally expressed as "ahead-of-itself-already-being-in-(the-world) as being-alongside (entities encountered within-the-world)." This formulation captures three essential moments: existence (ahead-of-itself), facticity (already-being-in), and falling (being-alongside). Existence refers to Dasein's projection into possibilities—its always being beyond itself toward what it can be. Facticity designates Dasein's thrownness—the fact that it always already finds itself in a world not of its own making. Falling indicates Dasein's absorption in entities within the world and its tendency to understand itself in terms of these entities. The unity of care is revealed most clearly in the phenomenon of anxiety (Angst). Unlike fear, which is directed toward specific threatening entities within the world, anxiety has no definite object. What anxiety is anxious about is being-in-the-world as such. In anxiety, the familiar network of significance collapses, revealing the groundlessness of Dasein's existence. This unsettling experience discloses Dasein's being as care by bringing it face to face with its thrownness, its projection into possibilities, and its tendency to flee from authentic existence into the tranquilizing familiarity of the "They." In everyday life, care manifests in our constant concern with projects, tasks, and responsibilities. Consider how we typically experience time: not as a sequence of now-points but as a field of concerns stretching from what has been (our facticity) through what currently occupies us (our falling) to what lies ahead (our existence). When deeply engaged in a meaningful project, we experience this unified temporal structure of care—we draw on past experience, engage with present circumstances, and project toward future possibilities, all in a single movement of existence. The significance of care extends beyond theoretical understanding to practical self-interpretation. By recognizing care as the being of Dasein, we can overcome fragmented conceptions of human existence that separate reason from emotion, mind from body, or theory from practice. Care reveals human existence as a unified whole, always already engaged in a world of significance. This insight challenges both rationalistic conceptions that prioritize detached contemplation and voluntaristic conceptions that emphasize arbitrary choice. Instead, it reveals human existence as fundamentally characterized by concernful engagement with a meaningful world—an engagement that precedes and makes possible all theoretical reflection and deliberate decision.

Chapter 4: Anxiety, Death and Authentic Existence

Anxiety (Angst) represents a fundamental mood that discloses Dasein's authentic situation in the world. Unlike fear, which is directed toward specific threatening entities within the world, anxiety has no definite object. What anxiety is anxious about is being-in-the-world as such. In anxiety, the familiar network of significance that constitutes the world collapses, revealing the fundamental groundlessness of Dasein's existence. The world takes on a character of uncanniness (Unheimlichkeit)—literally "not-being-at-home"—as everyday familiarity breaks down. This experience of anxiety individualizes Dasein by pulling it out of its absorption in the "They." When the public interpretations that normally guide Dasein's understanding lose their grip, Dasein is thrown back upon its own responsibility for its being. Anxiety thus discloses Dasein's freedom—its ability to choose itself and its possibilities—but also the burden of this freedom. In anxiety, Dasein confronts the fact that it alone is responsible for giving meaning to its existence in a world that offers no predetermined path. Death constitutes Dasein's uttermost possibility—the possibility of the impossibility of existence. As Dasein's "ownmost" possibility, death cannot be taken over by anyone else; no one can die in my place. As "non-relational," death individualizes Dasein, cutting it off from its relations with others. As "not to be outstripped," death is a possibility that Dasein can never get beyond or overcome. And as "certain and indefinite," death is inevitable but always uncertain as to its when. These characteristics make death the possibility that most radically reveals Dasein's finite nature. Authentic being-toward-death involves anticipating death as a possibility rather than merely expecting it as a future event. In anticipation, Dasein holds open the possibility of its own impossibility without attempting to calculate when death will occur or to domesticate it through public interpretations. This authentic relation to death liberates Dasein from its lostness in the "They" by revealing the ultimate groundlessness of public interpretations and the urgency of choosing its own possibilities in light of its finitude. The call of conscience represents another phenomenon that can awaken Dasein to authentic existence. Conscience calls Dasein back from its absorption in the "They" by silently summoning it to face its "being-guilty." This guilt is not moral culpability but an ontological condition—Dasein's inability to master the ground of its own being. As thrown, Dasein never chose to exist but must take over its existence as its own. As finite, it can never realize all its possibilities but must choose some at the expense of others. Authentic existence involves resolutely accepting this condition of nullity at the core of Dasein's being.

Chapter 5: Temporality as the Horizon of Being

Temporality constitutes the most fundamental horizon for understanding the meaning of Being. It is not time as ordinarily conceived—a sequence of "now-points" flowing from future to past—but rather the primordial unity that makes possible Dasein's existence as care. Temporality is not something that Dasein "has" but rather what Dasein essentially "is" as a temporal being whose very existence unfolds as temporalizing. The structure of temporality corresponds directly to the structure of care. The future (Zukunft) enables Dasein to be ahead-of-itself, coming toward itself from its possibilities. The past (Gewesenheit) grounds Dasein's already-being-in as having-been, taking up what it already is. The present (Gegenwart) allows Dasein's being-alongside entities within the world, making them present in circumspective concern. These three "ecstases" of temporality—future, past, and present—are not separate dimensions but form a unified whole in which each moment implies the others. Authentic temporality is characterized by a specific mode of unification in which the future has priority. In anticipatory resoluteness—the authentic mode of care—Dasein comes toward itself from its ownmost possibility (future), takes up its thrownness (past), and makes present the situation of action (present). This authentic temporalizing stands in contrast to inauthentic temporality, in which Dasein is dispersed into making-present, forgetting, and awaiting. In inauthenticity, Dasein understands time as an endless succession of "nows" in which things happen, rather than as the horizon of its own existence. Consider how this analysis illuminates our everyday experience of time. When immersed in routine activities, we often experience time as a monotonous succession of present moments, with the past receding into indifference and the future appearing as mere repetition of the present. In moments of authentic resolution, however—when we grasp our finite existence and take responsibility for our possibilities—time is experienced differently. The future opens up as genuine possibility, the past becomes something to be actively taken up rather than forgotten, and the present becomes the moment of decisive action rather than endless distraction. The analysis of temporality transforms our understanding of Being itself. Traditional ontology has implicitly understood Being in terms of presence—what is constantly present, available, or at hand. By revealing temporality as the horizon of Being, phenomenological analysis opens the possibility of understanding Being in a more primordial way—not as static presence but as temporal unfolding. This insight has profound implications not only for philosophy but for all domains of human understanding, from science and art to ethics and politics. By recognizing the temporal character of Being, we can develop more adequate approaches to phenomena that traditional ontology has struggled to comprehend—change, process, history, and existence itself.

Chapter 6: Historicality and Dasein's Temporal Existence

Historicality (Geschichtlichkeit) constitutes the concrete manifestation of Dasein's temporality in its existence between birth and death. It is not simply the fact that human beings have histories or exist "in history," but rather that Dasein's very being has a historical character. This historicality is grounded in the temporal structure of care and reveals how Dasein "stretches along" between birth and death, taking up its past while projecting into its future. The authentic historicality of Dasein manifests in what Heidegger terms "repetition" (Wiederholung)—not as mechanical reproduction but as the authentic retrieval of inherited possibilities. In repetition, Dasein explicitly takes over possibilities from its heritage, not by blindly following tradition but by resolutely appropriating these possibilities in light of its finite existence. This authentic relation to history stands in contrast to inauthentic historicality, in which Dasein either clings to the past out of nostalgia or constantly seeks novelty while forgetting its heritage. Dasein's historicality has both individual and communal dimensions. As an individual, Dasein has its "fate" (Schicksal)—the way it resolutely takes over its thrown possibilities. As being-with-others, Dasein participates in a communal "destiny" (Geschick)—the historizing of a community or people. Authentic historicality involves both: Dasein takes over its individual fate within the context of a shared destiny. This explains how historical events and figures can shape the possibilities available to later generations, not as causal determination but as the handing down of possibilities that can be authentically retrieved. Consider how this analysis illuminates our relationship to tradition and heritage. An inauthentic approach to tradition might involve either blindly following established practices or rejecting them entirely in favor of novelty. An authentic approach, by contrast, would involve understanding the tradition deeply, recognizing its unrealized possibilities, and creatively renewing them in light of present circumstances. A musician, for instance, might authentically retrieve the possibilities of a musical tradition not by merely imitating past masters but by developing these possibilities in new directions while remaining in dialogue with the tradition. The analysis of historicality challenges both objectivistic and subjectivistic conceptions of history. History is neither a sequence of objective events "in time" nor merely a subjective interpretation imposed on the past. Rather, it emerges from the temporal structure of Dasein's existence as being-in-the-world. This insight transforms our understanding of historical knowledge as well, revealing that historiography (the science of history) is grounded in the more fundamental historicality of human existence. By recognizing the historical character of understanding itself, we can develop a more adequate approach to historical phenomena that acknowledges both the facticity of the past and the role of interpretation in historical knowledge.

Summary

The phenomenological analysis of Dasein reveals that human existence is fundamentally characterized by care—a unified temporal structure in which we are always already ahead of ourselves, thrown into a world, and alongside entities within that world. This insight transforms our understanding of what it means to be human, challenging traditional conceptions that have dominated Western philosophy since Plato and Aristotle. The significance of this analysis extends far beyond academic philosophy. By revealing the temporal structure of human existence, it provides a foundation for understanding authenticity as a possibility within our everyday being-in-the-world. Rather than seeking transcendence beyond the human condition, authenticity emerges as a modified way of taking up our finite existence—acknowledging our thrownness while resolutely projecting ourselves into possibilities that express our own being. This perspective offers a profound reorientation of human self-understanding, one that neither elevates humanity to a godlike status nor reduces it to a mere thing among things, but instead reveals the distinctive character of an existence that is always an issue for itself, always in question, always becoming.

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Martin Heidegger

Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher whose work is perhaps most readily associated with phenomenology and existentialism, although his thinking should be identified as part of such philosophical movements only with extreme care and qualification. His ideas have exerted a seminal influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy. They have also had an impact far beyond philosophy, for example in architectural theory (see e.g., Sharr 2007), literary criticism (see e.g., Ziarek 1989), theology (see e.g., Caputo 1993), psychotherapy (see e.g., Binswanger 1943/1964, Guignon 1993) and cognitive science (see e.g., Dreyfus 1992, 2008; Wheeler 2005; Kiverstein and Wheeler forthcoming).

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