Table 1 Heideggerian Concepts
Heideggerian Concept | Brief description |
|---|---|
Being-in-the-world | An a priori state whereby a person and the world are inseparable. This co-constitution between humans and the entities that they encounter shapes the world they inhabit, whilst they simultaneously construct their world and existence from their own experiences and background [13, 14]. |
Being with | “Being-with” is a critical structure of a person’s Being-in-the-world and is what Heidegger refers to as solicitude. In everyday life, a person’s existence is one of “Being with” others [12]. |
Authenticity | In being with others, one assumes either an ‘inauthentic’ existence i.e. conformist or passive, defining oneself as everyone else might or an ‘authentic’ existence one chooses to live life with explicit awareness of their own Being and possibilities [14]. |
Leaping in | When a person ‘leaps-in’ for another, they “take over for the Other that which with (the other) is to concern himself” [12] (p.158) and may take control, potentially leading to dependency. |
Possibilities and Projection | Heidegger claims that people should be understood in terms of possibility. This is not necessarily some future event but rather that a person is his or her possibilities and can be involved in or project themselves into current activities ‘for-the-sake-of’ one or several on-going ways to be [15]. |
Useful things | Useful things are entities that manifest in our everyday activities. They are determined by a person’s opinions and ideas about their own existence and show themselves in ways that are relevant and appropriate to those activities [15]. |
Ready to hand | Useful things are considered to be ‘ready-to-hand’ when they are used with such familiarity so as to almost withdraw from the activity i.e. a person who is engaged in a task does not actively think about what they are using or what they are doing, and the useful thing might be considered as an extension of the body and, therefore, remains unnoticed [14]. |
Signs | The world, like useful things which are often taken for granted or scarcely noticed, can become conspicuous via signs. Signs can be interpreted in a variety of ways but make an individual’s world more explicit to themselves and to others [15]. |