ABSTRACT

Metaphysical concepts are embedded within our everyday existence through acculturated meaning. To transform human existence and become mortals dwelling in sympathy with the Revelation of Nature one cannot simply change some of our practices. Human beings are the beings who are capable of asking the question of Being. As such one is unique with respect to all other beings. By conceiving one's existence as primarily being-in-the-world, Heidegger made the ancient problem concerning the relationship between subject and object secondary. In Heidegger's Being and Time the word existence is used exclusively for the 'Being' of the human being. Existence is a way of being essentially founded upon concern. For us, existence is an issue that matters. As mortals one's lives are essentially defined by existential finitude. The primary source of mortal life is ontological. Our conscious representations of existence are contingent upon our responses to the site and source of existence.