ABSTRACT
According to Heidegger, the whole of Being and Time is concerned with a single question – the question of the meaning of Being. But what does he mean by the term ‘Being’? What, if anything, does it signify? It is no accident that Heidegger provides no clear and simple answer to this question – neither at the opening of his book nor at any later point within it; for, in his view, it will take at least the whole of his book to bring us to the point where we can even ask the question in a coherent and potentially fruitful way. Nevertheless, he also takes a certain, preliminary understanding of Being to be implicit in everything human beings say and do; so it should be possible, even at this early stage, to indicate at least an initial orientation for our thinking.
