Being-In-The-World

Martin Heidegger
May 1977


Heidegger tells us, "The structure of that to which Dasein assigns
itself is what makes up the world. The worldhood of the world is thus
the comporting of Dasein to its possibilities which I myself am." He
then goes on to explain that we discover things in the world
ready-to-hand for their use-value, and they, in turn, are incorporated
into Dasein's possibilities as an assignment of a something
in-order-to. Being present-at-hand, the other way we discover things
in the world, is tied up with being-ready-to-hand because it comes
into view only in the relation of a "with which" that obstructs the
"something-in-order-to" of the ready-to-hand, in other words, an
obstacle interferes with the use value of a thing. Heidegger describes
this present-to-hand awareness as a disturbance that reveals itself
through conspicuousness (broken equipment), absence (as something
necessary before it can become an in-order-to), and obstinacy of
obstacles (as something that gets in the way of an in-order-to
preventing it from becoming an in-order-to). When being-ready-to-hand
is not sufficient, when Dasein's goals become blocked, the pure
presence-at-hand steps in to exhibit itself. Thus, Dasein's
circumspective concern lights up the worldly character of entities
present-at-hand and ready-to-hand, but, in addition to being with
these entities, Dasein is also being there with others, discourse
(communication and understanding), and state of mind.