With his book, Being and Time, Heidegger attempts to probe and solve the age old question of what exactly being is, and does so in the most concrete manner. Through the introduction of concepts such as Dasein, he provides a very rich analysis of what he believes it means to be a human being-in-the-world. His explanation of our experience in the world lays a solid foundation in allowing the reader to reinterpret the average notion of being in the world.
Before jumping into the topic at hand, perhaps it would be crucial to first properly define the concept Heidegger refers to as Dasein (translated, this means ‘being there’). This is a term repeated throughout this writing, and is done so for a good reason. According to Heidegger all human beings …show more content…
This in turn forces us to to examine our self-identity in relation to the world that we interact with everyday. We must ask ourselves what exactly makes up this identity of self. The answer to that question is quite simple; it is the everyday activities that we engage in along with the social norms that govern our everyday life. Furthermore if one engages in such activities and lives their life according to these social norms, one cannot forget that the other people they interact with also form part their Dasein. This is because our everyday practices are often in relation to the existence of other people (Heidegger, 1962:157). So for example, when we look at at teacher, their practice of teaching has to be viewed in relation to another being's Dasein - in this case the Dasein of a student. So before one can truly embrace their own existence, they need to understand that they will be interpretted according to their respective social practice. One can therefore assert that there is always a constant network of relations when dealing with Dasein. The points raised above eventually lead to Heidegger bringing up the concept of distantiality which is also pivotal in understanding …show more content…
Here, Heiddeger is attempting to assert that it is in our most basic structure of being to always compare ourselves with other beings and observe how we measure up to them. He then goes to say that because of this basic structure, Dasein therefore exhibits what he calls solicitude. In other words we care for and about other Dasein (Heidegger, 1962:158). These two concepts can be seen as tool that help us see that our Dasein has an innate understanding of other Dasein and that our Dasein also knows how to interact with other Dasein too. The concepts of distantiality and solicitude also form an imperative part of another point when examing our Dasein in relation to other Dasein. It is clear that my Dasein is interconnected to the Dasein of another individual because I would not have a good sense of myself if I could not relate to other Dasein. For example, a boy better understand his own Dasein when he sees a girl and is able to compare himself to her, and also understand that he is not a girl himself, but rather a boy. The Dasein of others can both reaffrim our own Dasein or it can further help us in understanding the world around. The more one encounters Daseins that are different to their own, the wider the scope of their world becomes, and they subsequently grasp everything arounf them a whole lot