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More Original Explication of Dasein [350-351]

Anyone, this 'there' is first of all always being-there-with others, which is the publicly oriented there in which every Dasein constantly remains, even when it withdraws completely into itself.

The specific discoveredness of the world, which we have called disclosedness to distinguish it from that of in-being, is provisionally defined sufficiently by the analysis of meaningfulness and world hood as that disclosedness which is given because the entity having the character of Dasein discloses or has disclosed a world. The co-discoveredness of in-being itself, that I am to my Dasein itself first in a worldly way, that is, I have myself in a worldly way with and in concerned absorption in the world, is not a consequence of the disclosedness of the world, but is co-original with it. The structure of this co-discoveredness of Dasein with its world must now be defined in more detail.

We said that concern is absorbed in meaningfulness. It is a dwelling intimately with the world by way of concern, with the world in its conduciveness, usefulness, and the like. Insofar as the world is encountered in these characters of meaningfulness, it encounters concern, it addresses itself as it were constantly to a being which is dependent upon the world, a being which has the sense of caring, of being involved in caring about something. This concerned dependence upon the world, which defines the mode of being of Dasein, is constantly being solicited by the world itself in this or that way. The world solicits concern: This means that, as it is discovered in concern, the world does not meet with a mere looking and staring at something on hand; rather, it primarily and constantly meets with-even in looking at the world-a caring being-in-it. In other words, being-in-the-world is so to speak constantly being summoned by the threatening and non-threatening character of the world. In all preoccupation with the world, Dasein as in-being is in some way solicited and summoned (way of being disposed); this may only be in the form of an undisturbed performance, the soothing uniformity of an unthreatened employment, the indifference of the everyday handling of what is placed under care.

These characters of indifference: undisturbed preoccupation, the soothing uniformity of everyday action, the indifference in handling matters can (and even will) at any time be replaced by restlessness and uneasiness, or in turn by the sense of being unencumbered and letting oneself go to the point of soaring frenzy. The phenomena of indifference and its interruptions by solicitation are in general possible only because concerned being-in-the-world can be addressed originally by the threatening and the non-threatening, in short, by the world as meaningfulness. It is only because Dasein itself is in itself care that the world is experienced in its threatening character, in its meaningfulness. This does not mean that the caring Dasein thus construes the world 'subjectively.' That would be a complete inversion of the elements


Martin Heidegger (GA 20) History of the Concept of Time