Glossary / Lexicon

Dasein refers to Heidegger's term for "being-in-the-world". The world does not exist without humans, and humans do not exist without the world.

Because humans exist in the world, it is there that they must exercise their free will. "Being-in-the-world" means existing in the world, and existing means interpreting and valuing one's experiences and making choices regarding those experiences. Dasein (Heidegger, 1927-1962) is loosely translated as "being there", refers to the fact that, at each moment in the process of existence, each person has a way of being. A person's "Dasein" reflects several psychological functions : The first is "awareness ", particularly a person's awareness of the inescapable "givens" of life and the extent to which one perceives threat.