--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only…" description: "\"“Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even that which is closest: we *are* it, each of us, we ourselves. In spite of this, or rather fo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg" --- # Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even… ![“Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even that which is closest: we *are* it, each of us, we ourselves. In spite of this, or rather for just this reason, it is ontologically that which is farthest. To be sure, its ownmost Being is such that it has an understanding of that Being…” quote by Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg) > ““Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even that which is closest: we \*are\* it, each of us, we ourselves. In spite of this, or rather for just this reason, it is ontologically that which is farthest. To be sure, its ownmost Being is such that it has an understanding of that Being, and already maintains itself in each case as if its Being has been interpreted in some manner. But we are certainly not saying that when Dasein's own Being is thus interpreted pre-ontologically in the way which lies closest, this interpretation can be taken over as an appropriate clue, as if this way of understanding Being is what must emerge when one's ownmost state of Being is considered as an ontological theme. The kind of Being which belongs to Dasein is rather such that, in understanding its own Being, it has a tendency to do so in terms of that entity towards which it comports itself proximally and in a way which is essentially constant―in terms of the 'world'. In Dasein itself, and therefore in its own understanding of Being, the way the world is understood is, as we shall show, reflected back ontologically upon the way in which Dasein itself gets interpreted. Thus because Dasein is ontico-ontologically prior, its own specific state of Being (if we understand this in the sense of Dasein's 'categorial structure') remains concealed from it. Dasein is ontically 'closest' to itself and ontologically farthest; but pre-ontologically it is surely not a stranger." ―from\_Being and Time\_. Translated by John Macquarrie & Edward Robinson, pp. 36-37”” [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. Human existence is both intimately familiar and fundamentally mysterious, because we are our own being yet cannot fully grasp its deepest nature. **In simple terms:** We are close to ourselves but cannot fully understand our deepest being. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of self‑knowledge and stay open to deeper inquiry. Themes existence ontology self‑knowledge philosophy Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - personal reflection - academic study - existential counseling Key Concepts Heideggerian phenomenology ontological concealment self‑interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does recognizing our ontological distance affect daily choices? - What practices help reveal hidden aspects of self? A Different Perspective The concept of “world” may oversimplify complex inner experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closest Interpretation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closest-interpretation-1417685/) [Considered Ontological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-ontological-1417686/) [Dasein Interpreted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dasein-interpreted-1417682/) [Interpreted Dasein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interpreted-dasein-1417683/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Metaphysics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metaphysics/) [Ontology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ontology/) [Ownmost Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ownmost-understanding-1417684/) [Phenomenology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phenomenology/) ## Related quotes > [“The \*second task\* consists in distinguishing the mode of knowing operative in ontology as science of Being, and this requires us to \*work out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/the-second-task-consists-in-distinguishing-the-mode-of-knowing/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [Thus "phenomenology" means αποφαινεσθαι τα φαινομενα -- to let that which shows itself be seen from itself in the very way in which it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/thus-phenomenology-means-to-let-that-which-shows-itself-be-seen-from/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“We assert now that Being is the proper and sole theme of philosophy. This is not our own invention; it is a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/we-assert-now-that-being-is-the-proper-and-sole-theme-of-philosophy/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Being, as the basic theme of philosophy, is no class or genus of entities; yet it pertains to every entity. Its 'universality' is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/being-as-the-basic-theme-of-philosophy-is-no-class-or-genus-of/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“As a method however, the \*method of ontology\* is nothing but the sequence of the steps involved in the approach to Being as such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/as-a-method-however-the-method-of-ontology-is-nothing-but-the/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Our conduct of the ontological investigation in the first and second parts opens up for us at the same time a view of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/our-conduct-of-the-ontological-investigation-in-the-first-and-second/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Because they are assertions about Being in the light of time properly understood, all ontological propositions are Temporal propositions. It is only because ontological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/because-they-are-assertions-about-being-in-the-light-of-time-properly/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“The perception of other people and the intersubjective world is problematic only for adults. The child lives in a world which he unhesitatingly believes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-perception-of-other-people-and-the-intersubjective-world-is/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [Pure phenomenology claims to be the science of pure phenomena. This concept of the phenomenon, which was developed under various names as early as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-husserl/pure-phenomenology-claims-to-be-the-science-of-pure-phenomena-this/) [Edmund Husserl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-husserl/) > [“What is gained by the transcendence of the object is the identifiability of the object in a plurality of acts and the identifiability of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/what-is-gained-by-the-transcendence-of-the-object-is-the/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [“Zu den Sachen selbst!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-husserl/zu-den-sachen-selbst/) [Edmund Husserl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-husserl/) > [“One of my principal theses is that in every case the nature of a being (contingent as well as essential nature) can, in principle,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scheler/one-of-my-principal-theses-is-that-in-every-case-the-nature-of-a/) [Max Scheler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scheler/) > [There's a phenomenology of being sick, one that depends on temperament, personal history, and the culture which we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/there-s-a-phenomenology-of-being-sick-one-that-depends-on-temperament/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Here we are at the very core of the thesis we wish to defend in the present essay: reverie is under the sign of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaston-bachelard/here-we-are-at-the-very-core-of-the-thesis-we-wish-to-defend-in-the/) [Gaston Bachelard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaston-bachelard/) > [“The unfinished nature of phenomenology and the inchoate style in which it proceeds are not the signs of failure; they were inevitable because phenomenology’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfinished-nature-of-phenomenology-and-the-inchoate-style-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## 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. Every seeking takes its direction beforehand from what is sought. Questioning is a knowing search for beings in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/every-questioning-is-a-seeking-every-seeking-takes-its-direction/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [“Anxiety is there. It is only sleeping. Its breath quivers perpetually through Dasein, only slightly in those who are jittery, imperceptibly in the 'Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/anxiety-is-there-it-is-only-sleeping-its-breath-quivers-perpetually/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [The domination of the public way in which things have been interpreted has already decided upon even the possibilities of being attuned, that is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/the-domination-of-the-public-way-in-which-things-have-been/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [In everything well known something worthy of thought still lurks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/in-everything-well-known-something-worthy-of-thought-still-lurks/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) > [The possible ranks higher than the actual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/the-possible-ranks-higher-than-the-actual/) [Martin Heidegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) [Explore all 166 Martin Heidegger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/) ## More Learning quotes > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“Men mistook measurement for understanding. And they always had to put themselves at the center of everything. That was their greatest conceit. The earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/men-mistook-measurement-for-understanding-and-they-always-had-to-put/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. But when I got to school and tried to share learning with other students that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/where-i-grew-up-learning-was-a-collective-activity-but-when-i-got-to/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [Learning from the best, you will eventually become the best if you have the talent already, if you have that potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-orton/learning-from-the-best-you-will-eventually-become-the-best-if-you/) [Randy Orton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-orton/) > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [“let us not teach / what we have learned badly / and not profited by”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-d-hilda-doolittle/let-us-not-teach-what-we-have-learned-badly-and-not-profited-by/) [H.D. (Hilda Doolittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-d-hilda-doolittle/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [once in awhile you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look it right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/once-in-awhile-you-get-shown-the-light-in-the-strangest-of-places-if/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [“Damen's understanding of Laurent rearranged itself, in order that he might despise him more accurately.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-u-pacat/damen-s-understanding-of-laurent-rearranged-itself-in-order-that-he/) [S.U. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-u-pacat/) [Browse all 22,300 Learning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even that which is closest: we *are* it, each of us, we ourselves. In spite of this, or rather for just this reason, it is ontologically that which is farthest. To be sure, its ownmost Being is such that it has an understanding of that Being, and already maintains itself in each case as if its Being has been interpreted in some manner. But we are certainly not saying that when Dasein's own Being is thus interpreted pre-ontologically in the way which lies closest, this interpretation can be taken over as an appropriate clue, as if this way of understanding Being is what must emerge when one's ownmost state of Being is considered as an ontological theme. The kind of Being which belongs to Dasein is rather such that, in understanding its own Being, it has a tendency to do so in terms of that entity towards which it comports itself proximally and in a way which is essentially constant―in terms of the 'world'. In Dasein itself, and therefore in its own understanding of Being, the way the world is understood is, as we shall show, reflected back ontologically upon the way in which Dasein itself gets interpreted. Thus because Dasein is ontico-ontologically prior, its own specific state of Being (if we understand this in the sense of Dasein's 'categorial structure') remains concealed from it. Dasein is ontically 'closest' to itself and ontologically farthest; but pre-ontologically it is surely not a stranger.\" ―from_Being and Time_. Translated by John Macquarrie & Edward Robinson, pp. 36-37”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Heidegger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-close-to-us-even-that-which-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Learning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-close-to-us-even-that-which-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/62c/martin-heidegger-2144_existential-thought_ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-c_919996.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ontically, of course, Dasein is not only close to us―even that which is closest: we *are* it, each of us, we…” — Martin Heidegger", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Heidegger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-heidegger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Ontically, of course, Dasein is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-close-to-us-even-that-which-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-heidegger/ontically-of-course-dasein-is-not-only-close-to-us-even-that-which-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```