Being and Time: A Study of Being, Existence, and the Meaning of Time (Harper Perennial Modern Thought)

Being and Time is, obviously a ground-breaking work but it is also a work that frustrates many readers. It is not a book that one should try to read without the necessary background (some knowledge of phenomenology) and, ideally, without some guidance (i.e. a class in Heidegger). There are a number of books that attempt to make Being and Time more accessible. Unfortunately a number of them are very problematic. Personally I would recommend A Guide to Heidegger's Being and Time (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy) by Magda King. It is not the easiest or most accessible of the commentaries on Being and Time but it is one of the more accurate in my opinion. It also focuses more on the second division which is really the more important division though it is also the more difficult division and for precisely that reason it often gets less attention in the secondary literature. I should say a word about this particular translation. I do not read German but I have read both this translation and the new Stambaugh/Schmidt translation so I have a few comments about their relative virtues. As I said in my review of the Stambaugh/Schmidt translation I really like the Macquarrie/Robinson translation partly because it is the first translation I read so I got used to the terminology and partly because Macquarrie and Robinson give, I think, a better sense of the German by choosing slightly awkward translations (like ready-to-hand and present-at-hand, etc.). The fact is that Heidegger is introducing neologisms so I like the fact that Macquarrie and Robinson invent their own neologisms to translate many of Heidegger's most important terms. They also have extremely detailed notes throughout the book relating to the translation. Those are two definite virtues of this particular translation. There are two main virtues of the Stambaugh/Schmidt translation in my opinion. First, the translation is smoother and probably a bit more accessible for first time readers. The main advantage, however, is that Schmidt has put in brackets for all the major 'sein' words which indicate precisely what German word Heidegger is using. This overcomes to a large degree the need for different translations/capitalizations/hyphens, etc. (Being, be-ing, beings, entities, etc.) for all the different 'sein' terminology (it is important to realize that this only applies to the new Stambaugh/Schmidt translation; as far as I know the original Stambaugh translation does not include these bracketed terms). The bottom line is I think anyone who is serious about Being and Time should own and read both translations particularly if you are like me and do not read German. I should probably say a few words about the content of Being and Time. It seems a little ridiculous to write about a book that has achieved such status but my conscience will not let me post a review without saying anything about the contents of a book. Heidegger is, of course, primarily interested in the question of Being as he makes clear in his two introductions. Heidegger believes that Being is something that Dasein understands. We understand what it is for something 'to be' but we understand it in a vague way. Heidegger wants to make this vague understanding explicit but to do so he must understand the being that understands, i.e. Dasein. Most of Being and Time is taken up with an analysis of Dasein and its manner of being. The first division lays out what Heidegger calls the existentials of Dasein. They are like the categories that are applied to beings other than Dasein, the existentials are the a priori's of the being of Dasein. In the second division he grounds all these existentials temporally, specifically, on the three temporal ecstases of the having-been, the present, and the to-come. For Heidegger Dasein is essentially futural meaning the future has precedence. Dasein is its possibilities. This might seem strange but it makes perfect sense. Everything we do has reference to the future and to projects. I read Being and Time because I have projected a future in which I become a philosophy professor, etc. (the father in Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road (Oprah's Book Club) discovers this essential truth when he is looking through a bookcase at the end of the world and realizes that books make no sense when there is no future; their very being as books is predicated on a future. There is no reason to read after the apocalypse when there is no future because there are no human possibilities). McCarthy is being very Heideggerians since one of Heidegger's basic insights is that it is on the basis of the future, a thrown project, that Dasein is able to exist meaningfully in the world and make sense out of inner-worldly beings. This review is merely the barest skeleton of an outline of a few themes from Being and Time. Ultimately it is impossible to write a summary of such an epoch-making book. It might have been better to simply avoid trying to summarize it at all but I wanted to say at least something about the book. Heidegger has completely altered our understanding of our own being as well as the meaning of Being in general. Heidegger's influence on Continental philosophy is incalculable. All roads into Continental philosophy lead through Heidegger. There are many who seem to think, due to the difficulty of Heidegger's text, that it is in fact non-sense, a giant prank, and that Heidegger is not really saying anything (this is an extreme view I know but it is not all that different from the critiques leveled at Heidegger by prominent philosophers like Rudolf Carnap). For now I will simply offer my assurances to the reader: Heidegger's text is difficult, there is no doubt about that, but if you are truly interested in understanding it and you have the patience to work through it over many years (it will take many years) then I promise you Heidegger's book does make sense! Whether you will agree with Heidegger's positions is another question but it is my honest opinion that anyone who truly desires to understand this book can if they are willing to put in the work.

Ideally, Heidegger's Being & Time is not one's first foray into reading Philosophy. Indeed, I would say a ~4th Yr Philosophy Student at University would have a sufficient background to approach the text, BUT! There are no Philosophy Students anymore...so, that doesn't help... Without trying to name drop a bunch of obscure Philosophers &/or esoteric writings (maybe a few), I'll name a few basic Philosophers & other Writings/Information one would do well to first become familiar with before approaching Heidegger — the suggestions are not absolute, certainly not necessary; in fact, Heidegger was quite popular with the hippie crowds in the 1960's US reading Hindu & Buddhist religious texts. So, there's always that route; however, the route that doesn't involve illegal psychedelic narcotics & countless STDs would probably include familiarity with: – Socrates (via) Plato, Plato, & Aristotle – The Book of Job, OT, definitely (just as a secular reading, no need to convert to any religion, or do...I don't care); also, it wouldn't hurt to be familiar with the 5 Books of Moses, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Gospels, The Book of Revelation, & The Book of Enoch – Jakob Boehme (ok, a bit esoteric; but, he was a German cobbler that had a vision & developed a unique understanding of a knowledge above God that reminded me a lot of Heidegger) – Rene Descartes & Immanuel Kant – Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, & Sigmund Freud (the 3 Philosophers that delivered the 20th Century) – The Dictionary – The Translation feature on Google Lens (many of Heidegger's quotes are not translated) – & The Teaching Company has a lecture series recorded by the late Rick Roderick of Duke; if you could locate his lecture on Heidegger, then you will be absolutely set to take down Heidegger. If not, no worries; it's just calming listening to an Academic with a strong West Texas accent talk about Heidegger prior to reading Heidegger. I'm sure there are plenty of other people from West Texas happy to oblige if you search the internet. Anyhow, that's what I would recommend becoming familiar with prior to reading Being & Time. Heidegger just uses so many references, offers so much obscurity without a lot of examples, & he creates his own words (they're German words, but he's re-appropriating them). It's all there to trip you up & his work will start slow. If he makes a reference you don't understand, it's probably a good idea to pause & look it up the best you can. Once you get used to his writing, your pace will start to pick up...still, don't expect to read this all at once. Give it time — I was a Senior Philosophy Student in 2008 when I first purchased Being & Time; I didn't finish the book until my 3rd year in Graduate School (one, I didn't have a lot of time; but, two, it's a really difficult book). Once you finally figure out what he's trying to say, it will be rewarding, it might seem obvious, but it's not trivial & the profound will be in the undertaking in its own right. I recommend Heidegger's Being & Time; it's an important work in Philosophy, & its sheer difficulty offers a sense of accomplishment in its own right once you've finished it.

Published in 1927, Martin Heidegger's `Being and Time' is widely regarded as one of the Twentieth Century's most influential philosophical texts. This review refers to the hard cover version of the Macquarie and Robinson translation. In Being and Time, Heidegger sets out to examine the meaning of being, that is, what does it mean for something to `be'? And, while Heidegger identifies three modes of being, including, the present to hand (things) and, the ready to hand (equipment), he is primarily concerned with that mode of being he refers to as Dasien (being in the world). That is, beings for whom their be-ing is an issue - in other words us. The work is divided in two divisions. Division I considers the question of being, while Division II, seeks to anchor the meaning of being in temporality. To what degree, this endeavor is successful is an open question. Heidegger himself abandoned this project after Division II, although it was originally envisioned as a much larger treatise. Notwithstanding it success, or lack thereof, Being and Time is a seminal text in Twentieth Century philosophy. Heidegger's rich and insightful existential phenomenology has influenced, a tremendous range of subsequent thinkers, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, Derrida, Taylor - to name just a few. Despite its clear importance, Being and Time is a daunting text, characterized by abstruse language, bad prose and poor structure. Approached without the assistance of a skilled guide it can be impenetrable. Following are a few sources that may be helpful to readers in approaching Being in Time (there are likely many more good aids; these are just the ones that have recently used). Texts: Heidegger, `History of the Concept of Time' (1925 lecture notes) - elaborates and provides context Heidegger, `Basic Problems' (1927 lectures notes) - again elaborates and provides context Blattner, Heidegger's Being and Time: A Reader's Guide'- discussion of Division I Blattner, `Heidegger's Temporal Idealism' - discussion of Division II and Heidegger's early view on temporality Audio Lectures (free on-line): Hubert Dreyfus, Phil 185 (Divisiion I) - Course (itunes/UC Berkley/Philosophy) - outstanding resource by a leading Heidegger scholar Hubert Dreyfus, Phil 189 (Division II) - (itunes/UC Berkley/Philosophy) - - outstanding resource by a leading Heidegger scholar John Drabinski `Between Husserl and Heidegger' (google Drabinski) - Provides background on phenomenology and Husserl as well as taking up `History of the Concept of Time' Other (on-line): Roderick Munday. Being and Time Glossary. I have only glanced at this, however, it seems well done. Some may chafe at this approach - seeing immersion as the better approach. Overall, Being and Time is an essential piece of reading for anyone seeking to gain insight into contemporary continental philosophy

Since 1995 I have read Being & Time 75 times. Around the 60th reading I realized that there was no Martin Heidegger, there was no "Being & Time", and there was no "book" to be read. I discovered that all there is is the conversation (Be-ing) that was occurring between the front and back covers of "Being & Time". I also noticed that, like you, I have always been that conversation. Shortly after reading "Being & Time" the 72nd time I awoke in the morning and realized that I had left something behind. I had uncovered new ground to stand on. As Heidegger would say it, I realized that I live alongside a world determined by measurability (length, width, height, locality, mass, etc.) and definability, however, who I am can't be defined by the world's criteria. I "took a leap of faith" into Be-ing and gave up 'proving'. Be-ing is uncoverable, however it is not measurable, definable, or provable. "Being & Time" speaks to Be-ing. The difficulty in reading "Being & Time is caused by the reader attempting to "fit" what is being discussed into the world's measurability and definability. 'Knowing' is not the same as 'proving'. You can 'know' what is between the front and back covers of "Being & Time", however, you can't come close to being able to prove what you know. Part of the difficulty in reading "Being and Time" is caused by the prolific use of the word "being". When you read the word 'being' you make the assumption that you know what is being said because 'being' is definable by the dictionary and you have known what it meant for a long time. In a lot of cases where the word 'being' is used what is really intended is actually "Be-ing". If you don't make the distinction between 'being' and 'Be-ing' you will 'fly' over the words assuming that you know what you are reading only to bang your head against confusion. You need to have the distinction between 'being' and 'Be-ing' in your 'tool box' and vigilantly make the distinction (where appropriate) as you read "Being & Time". To help me stay vigilant in my quest I typed all 488 pages of the book and (where appropriate) changed 'being' to 'Be-ing'. One other word you should be aware of is Dasein. Dasein is German for 'there-being' or 'being-there'. I found in my reading that 'Dasein' (as a concept) was getting in the way of what I was reading so I changed it to "Be-ing-there" throughout the book. Even the title of the book is inaccurate. The title should be "Be-ing & Time" and not "Being & Time". Language always happens after perception. "Be-ing" is the "space" where the ability to 'manufacture' the definition of 'being' takes place. Measurability and definability happen in language and the dictionary is the 'rule book'. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines "being" as a thing called a noun: it is "the quality or state of having existence; something conceivable as existing; something that actually exists; a living thing". You, who you really are, is not a measurable, definable, thing. You are "Be-ing", an uncovering. "Being & Time" speaks to what you know and not to what you can prove. "Being & Time" and all of Heidegger's works speak to "Be-ing". His works won't provide you with the ammunition you need to 'dominate the world'. His works will only allow you to 'uncover' the ground you already stand on so that you have some say as to whether the 'world' gets to dominate you or not.

It’s a really nice book! It’s got good printed and pretty outside looking. But there’s some shipping problems that cause the corners are damaged and out of shape. This problem kinda annoying me. So I’ll just give four stars for it.

In one sentence: Being is always being-there. Heidegger is examining the question of the meaning of Being. If we ask “What is Being?” we have already presumed some understanding of the meaning of being by our use of the word is in the question. Heidegger lists three common answers: Heidegger uses Husserl’s category of “intentionality.” We are always intending-towards or -about something. We don’t simply “think.” We think about something. Consciousness is consciousness about something. There are different modes of intentionality. We don’t simply “think.” We are “involved” (what Heidegger called “care”). Heidegger shifted the discussion from the cognitive to the sub-cognitive level, from the head to the kardia. Dasein manifests itself in falling, thrownness, and projection (329ff). Care–my being-in-the-world is wrapped up/alongside with others’ being-in-the-world. I exist in the world within an already-existing-network-of-relations. (2) Thrownness: my Dasein in the world is already-in-a-definite-world. This world has facticity. Its boundaries are fluid. (3) Projection: we can only understand Dasein in terms of the world. You can’t transcend yourself to understand yourself. You are finite. (4) Being-as-falling: this is the threat to being. Dasein has to face flux, uprootedness, and anxiety. Death and Time “Ahead-of-itself” = in Dasein there is always something still out-standing which has not yet become actual (279). Death reveals this limit of Dasein. Death is the end to which Dasein is thrown. The possibility of death releases us from the illusions of the “they” (311). Death reveals the contingency and flux of all that is. Death manifests finitude. Grasping this finitude “snatches one back from the endless multiplicity of possibilities...and brings Dasein into the simplicity of its fate” (435). In the second section Heidegger revisits many of his main points in his analytic of Being (care, mood, falling, etc), but now he situates them within temporality. If being is always a being-there, then it is always a being-there-in-time. Temporality establishes our horizon. In conclusion Heidegger is important because he shows how the truth found in Plato’s forms is manifested in everyday experience.

Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" is the first of a two volume set inquiring into the meaning of Being. The first volume, and the only one produced, has three parts: A long introduction, a `Preparatory Fundamental Analysis of Dasein,' and an introduction to time. The introduction outlines the content in both volumes and why the meaning of Being has been avoided by past philosophy and why it needs to be answered. The preparatory analysis of Dasein is a long list of definitions and an unsuccessful attempt at finding the meaning of Being. The introduction of time serves as an introduction into the fundamental background knowledge necessary to find the meaning of Being. Heidegger is exceptionally difficult to read. Almost all the definitions he uses are either invented by him, as new words or combinations of words, or else old words that he uses in a new context. His use of words, when used correctly, is extremely precise. If you do not constantly pay attention to definitions his logic becomes nonsense. I had to constantly look up definitions from my notes to make sure I understood his train of thought. This difficulty is further exacerbated by the fact that he wrote in German and much of his precision is lost in translation. Fortunately, Heidegger often repeats his train of logic to ensure the reader stays on point. Heidegger never answers the question of Being. His attempts to understand Being all fail. The ending of "Being and Time" lacks a climax because he lays the groundwork for why time is essential to the meaning of Being without ever publishing the answers. I do not pretend to know everything Heidegger explains in "Being and Time." This is a book that should be read several times, throughout a lifetime, to come to terms with his method of thought.

This is one of the most rigorous and methodically constructed treatises you will find anywhere in philosophy. Heidegger is known for his difficulty, but this book holds an added challenge due to its cumulative dependence. What I mean is, you cannot possibly come to fully grasp the later sections of the book without grasping earlier sections. Every bit of the author's impressive terminology (whether it be a common term imbued with new meaning or a clever neologism) is systematically chosen, introduced, questioned, and developed as the text moves along. If you have never read Heidegger before, expect to reread certain paragraphs at least twice before their meaning begins to dawn on you. If you are persistent, the meaning of his precisely formulated sentences will cause you to perceive the world in entirely new ways. I recommend - at least at first - taking this book in small doses. If you feel your mind wandering at all just stop and go back to it later. If you are looking to scan this book for tidbits of wisdom you will likely be disappointed. Alternately, I would plan on a commitment of at least a few months if you want to glean anything at all from the text. For those who have read Heidegger before: this book is definitely his magnum opus. Within it he establishes a point of departure for all of his later thought and works. It is also the most engaging and enlightening read you will encounter in his repertoire. Compared to Heidegger's post-kehre writings, you will find the material and style in Being and Time to be far more precise and clear [a very difficult feat indeed considering the elusive nature of the subject matter]. Also, reading this book more than once is a must! Do not be surprised if after the first read you feel as though you are missing something - you probably are.

Martin Heidegger's Being and Time has been one of the most challenging books to read that I have ever come across. Not only was it because this was a translation from the original German into English (albeit excellently done by John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson), but because Heidegger's own use of German words and his coining of new terms and phrases were difficult for both German- and English-speaking readers. The subtleties of his thought and the nuances in his original German were not just a challenge for our translators, but also a challenge to readers of any excellent translation of his work. Having said that, it is important to emphasise that Heidegger's book is original and quite brilliant, and it is not at all surprising to discover that his book has had a deep influence on twentieth-century philosophy, and even theology. The book is divided into two Divisions, one on `Being' and the other on `Time'. Both Divisions form what Heidegger calls Part 1 of a two-part work. Sadly, the second Part was never published (was it even written?). My first reaction to this book (this is the first work by Heidegger that I have read) is that the first Division on `Being' was the more difficult of the two, in large part because so many new items of specialist Heideggerian terms were introduced here, and hence produced a more demanding read as one tried to accommodate oneself to his way of thinking and expressing himself. The second Division on `Time' was a (slightly) easier read because one already had most of the `vocabulary' in hand, even though new terminology and concepts (such as the `temporalising of temporality') were also introduced. And, of course, the key term - Dasein - figured prominently in both Divisions because Heidegger wanted to use this term for his existential-ontological entity (in ordinary language `human being') as a means of approaching the fundamental philosophical question `What is Being?' In a sense, Heidegger wants to invert Descartes's cogito ergo sum (`I think, therefore I am') into sum ergo cogito (`I am, therefore I think'). For him, human existence in its `thrownness' into `the world' and its `fallenness' and `inauthentic existence' are primordial constituents of Dasein, `prior' (or `anterior') to human conceptualising about its condition. Two concepts which I found particularly striking and important to assess were his views on Dasein as being primordially a `Being-towards-Death' and of having a sense of Time which includes a past, present and future but which are not based on an everyday use of `clocks'. Heidegger's view of `authentic' existence and of `temporality' challenges the ordinary intuitive understandings of what `real' living and experience of `time' mean for the majority of us most of the time. This is because (according to Heidegger) the average everyday existence of Dasein is not controlled by the true Self (the genuine `I') but by the `They', i.e. the public norms of what is acceptable thinking and behaving. Heidegger believes that we are `fleeing' from our true Selves and `authentic' existence by `falling' into the `world' of everyday activity which takes up our time and our lives. A genuine existential coming to terms with the `temporality' of our `Being-towards-Death' is possible in `moments of vision' when the true Self calls to the true Self and releases us from the `They'. Heidegger confronts the ideas of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, Kant and Hegel when it comes to fundamental ontology and the deepest ontological question about `Being', although recognising that his `analytic' of Dasein, despite providing the way and right phenomenological method, has not yet allowed us to answer the fundamental question `What is Being?' Perhaps this would have received an (i.e. his) answer if the second Part had been written/published, where he would have dealt more extensively with Descartes and Kant. None the less, however ambitious Heidegger's ontological project was (Being and Time was originally published in German in 1927, with our English translation appearing only in 1962!), there can be no doubt that this major book on ontology provides a penetrating and, at times, intriguing contribution to the big questions about life. Having now read Being and Time in its entirety for the first time and having formed an initial view of the work, I am conscious of the need to read the critical reviews of this book by experts in the field and to discover how Heidegger's views have influenced other key philosophers in their own thinking and contributions. Is 488-page Being and Time a book for relative beginners in the field of philosophy, much like myself? Hardly, I would say. However, it does repay the hard work done in reading this book carefully, and even `beginners' who `have a go' may benefit much.

This book is absolutely essential if you are into continental philosophy. It is not a an easy read in fact this book will need years to slowly digest, and appreciate. One of the pinnacles of modern philosophy, irrespective of heideggers own political affiliations

これは商品紹介でペーパーバック版とされているもの（ISBN 978-0-06-157559-4、Harper perennial modern thoughtの１冊）に対する速報レビューです。 到着したばかりでざっと眺めただけですし、ドイツ語の原書ならともかく良質な邦語訳がある現在、英訳本を通読することはないでしょう。 で、本文ですが、確かに巻末の原著注などは小さい活字ではありますが（印刷のことに詳しくないので何ポイントということが言えません）印刷は鮮明であり、買い直さねばならないような商品では全くありません。 最近よく見かけるディジタルデータを基に日本で印刷したものでも無いようです。（そういう書籍も印刷不鮮明だった経験はありません） このような重要文献が日本の文庫本のような分冊ではなく、ハンディな１巻本で手に入る諸外国をやや羨ましく思います。 なお詳しい方はご存じでしょうが、本文の訳は1962年のもので、Taylor Carmanによる8ページ余りのForewordのみが2008年に追加されたものです。

Não sei se algum dia conseguirei avaliar pois não sei se algum dia vou ter coragem de ler, as estrelas são pela importância do filosofo.

huge book but worth it. many pages written really small, but with time and patience you get it done.