ABSTRACT
A twentieth-century source of concerns about authenticity is the work of the German philosopher Martin Heidegger. In his influential Being and Time, Heidegger attempts to analyze human existence in a manner that transcends the false division between self and world that has plagued Western philosophy since Plato. Central to this attempt is a redefinition of consciousness or ego as Dasein, which means "being-there". This reflects Heidegger's assertion that there is no division between self and world: Consciousness encompasses being. The problem of authenticity arises immediately when Heidegger investigates different manners of "being-in-the-world". He distinguishes between two forms or orders of being. The first is the ontological, which is pure, true to its essential nature, and detached from everyday concerns. The second, the ontic, is practical, common, even "fallen". In contrast, authentic being-in-the-world is open to present, future, and past and is constantly developing new and creative meanings, uncontaminated by the pressures of social life and everyday concerns.
