Dasein

/ˈdɑzaɪn/ noun

Definition

In philosophy, especially in the work of Martin Heidegger, it refers to human existence or 'being-there'—the fundamental condition of being present in the world.

Etymology

From German 'Dasein,' literally 'being-there' (da = there, sein = being). Heidegger used this term in the 1920s-1930s to describe the unique way humans exist and understand their existence through time and possibility.

Kelly Says

Heidegger's 'Dasein' became one of those foreign philosophical terms that English scholars keep untranslated because no English phrase captures exactly what he meant—it's not just 'existence' but something about the anxious, mortal, self-aware way humans experience being alive.

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