Being and Time

Editorial review

Heidegger's masterwork is one of the most influential and least casually-readable books of 20th century philosophy. Concepts like 'being-toward-death,' 'thrownness,' and 'authenticity' have shaped existentialism, hermeneutics, theology, and phenomenology — but you'll want a guide.

AI-generated summary

Heidegger reopens the ancient question of 'the meaning of Being' by analyzing the kind of being we ourselves are — Dasein. He argues that Dasein is fundamentally temporal, situated, and characterized by its mortality, and that authentic existence requires owning that mortality rather than fleeing it.

Key takeaways

• 1

  We are not first 'minds' — we are first beings already involved in a world.

• 2

  Mortality, properly faced, individuates and seriously orients a life.

• 3

  Most everyday existence is 'fallen' into anonymous social patterns ('das Man').

• 4

  Time is not a container we move through; it is the structure of our existence.