Dasein | ˈdä-ˌzīn | noun
A German word meaning “being there” or “presence,” used by philosopher Martin Heidegger to describe the uniquely human experience of existing in the world with awareness.
Being is a loaded word. It is one thing that we all do constantly, yet the more we be, the more we wonder whether or not we are actually being our true selves. In this sense, being is a paradox.
Perhaps many of us blame the early philosophers, such as Plato with his highfalutin allegory of the cave. Couldn't he have just left things well enough alone? Why busy and pain oneself with questions of being? Questions of true reality? Why not just exist?
Wrestle with these questions long enough, and one will find that the bliss of ignorance-though sweet-is fleeting.
These questions need not unearth one's entire existence. They can be conducive to a fuller, more robust way of being in the world (Dasein).
Martin Heidegger's concept of Dasein contributes to a great deal of thought many philosophers have contributed as one considers existence/being in the world. Contrubitions such as that of Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss, Irvine Yalom, and Emmy Van Deurzen offer a helpful framework by which one might gain greater clarity into the authenticity of one's own existence. That might seem a daunting and overwhelming task at first, but the work of these philosophers breaks the way one experiences being into four realms:
1: Umwelt – the physical, biological environment (world of nature)
2: Mitwelt – the social world, our relationships (world with others)
3: Eigenwelt – the personal, internal world (world of self)
4: Überwelt – the spiritual or metaphysical world (world of belief, values, transcendence)
Herein lies a guide which may be helpful as you consider what it truly means for you to be there: In nature, in your social circles, internally as you be with yourself, and spiritually or transcendentally: connecting with that which is everything, far above or beyond you or me.
Here's the challenge: Living harmoniously in all four. As you read this, perhaps you can think of individuals who have shiloed one of these elements, neglecting all others. Perhaps it was your experience of a narcissist, who loved being with their own self so much that it led them to act abhorently within social settings, against their own physical limitations, and in high-treason against the Uberwelt: Claiming a glory not their own.
This is merely one example of the problems which can arise when balance is not given to each of these aspects of being there/Dasein.
Remaining grounded in social contexts helps keep the self from inflating one's own ego to the point of hubris. Grounding oneself in the spiritual or transcendental maintains a humility and curiosity in the world and in others. Understanding oneself in the context of nature (i.e., abilities, limitations, exploration, etc.) maintains a profound connection to the rhythms of the world--established by the entity which fits the definition offered by Uberwelt.
To be, or not to be? Perhaps that isn't the question. Perhaps the far greater question is how to be? Grounded in the helpful framework offered us by those pesky philosophers.
