--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If knowing is to be possible as a way of…" description: "\"“If knowing is to be possible as a way of determining the nature of the present-at-hand by observing it, then there must first be a deficiency in our h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/martin-heidegger-2144_nature_if-knowing-is-to-be-possible-as-a-way-of_754671.jpg" --- # If knowing is to be possible as a way of determining the… ![“If knowing is to be possible as a way of determining the nature of the present-at-hand by observing it, then there must first be a deficiency in our having-to-do with the world concernfully. When concern holds back from any kind of producing, manipulating and the like, it puts itself into what is…” quote by Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/martin-heidegger-2144_nature_if-knowing-is-to-be-possible-as-a-way-of_754671.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/martin-heidegger-2144_nature_if-knowing-is-to-be-possible-as-a-way-of_754671.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d06/martin-heidegger-2144_nature_if-knowing-is-to-be-possible-as-a-way-of_754671.jpg) > ““If knowing is to be possible as a way of determining the nature of the present-at-hand by observing it, then there must first be a deficiency in our having-to-do with the world concernfully. When concern holds back from any kind of producing, manipulating and the like, it puts itself into what is now the sole remaining mode of Being-in, the mode of just tarrying-alongside. In this kind of 'dwelling' as a holding-oneself-back from any manipulation or utilization, the perception of the present-at-hand is consummated.”” [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding the present requires stepping back from using it, allowing pure observation without manipulation. **In simple terms:** Observe without using to truly know. Key Takeaway Pause to simply observe. Themes philosophy existence observation Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - research - mindfulness practice - art criticism - environmental assessment Key Concepts Phenomenology being-in-the-world dwelling Questions to Reflect On - How can you observe without intervening? - When is intervention necessary? A Different Perspective Pure observation may miss actionable insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Philosophy of Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy-of-mind/) ## Related quotes > [“Let us repeat. 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Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-m-driscoll/) ## More by Martin Heidegger > [Language is the house of Being. In its home man dwells. Those who think and those who create with words are the guardians of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/language-is-the-house-of-being-in-its-home-man-dwells-those-who-think/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [I take great pleasure, every day, in seeing my work deeply rooted in our native soil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/i-take-great-pleasure-every-day-in-seeing-my-work-deeply-rooted-in/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Within certain limits terminology is always arbitrary. But the definition of being-true as unveiling, making manifest, is not an arbitrary, private invention of mine;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/within-certain-limits-terminology-is-always-arbitrary-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [The senses do not enable us to cognize any entity in its Being; they merely serve to announce the ways in which 'external' Things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/the-senses-do-not-enable-us-to-cognize-any-entity-in-its-being-they/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Nothing is everything that doesn't happen at this very moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/nothing-is-everything-that-doesn-t-happen-at-this-very-moment/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Time-space as commonly understood, in the sense of the distance measured between two time-points, is the result of time calculation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/time-space-as-commonly-understood-in-the-sense-of-the-distance/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Vsakdo je drugi in nihče ni on sam.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/vsakdo-je-drugi-in-nih-e-ni-on-sam/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [What seems natural to us is probably just something familiar in a long tradition that has forgotten the unfamiliar source from which it arose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/what-seems-natural-to-us-is-probably-just-something-familiar-in-a/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [The human body is essentially something other than an animal organism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/the-human-body-is-essentially-something-other-than-an-animal-organism/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [A boundary is not that at which something stops, but that from which something begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/a-boundary-is-not-that-at-which-something-stops-but-that-from-which/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Every questioning is a seeking. 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