CHAPTER 2: THE ORIGINAL ONTOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DASEIN
understood as worldly in light of the primary character of encountering the world — significance. This must be done in such a way that the 'with' aspect is thrown into relief relative to the 'surround' aspect on the basis of significance.
'Others' are already there in what particular significations of the surrounding world refer us to. The bridge under construction refers to such and such people; the boat on the beach refers to the person to whom it belongs. In no way can we now designate what is co-encountered [mitbegegnet] in the surrounding world (bridge, boat) and what is there as the 'upon which' of the significations as something that is 'good for this' or 'good for that', or made of certain materials. Rather, it is something that itself deals with [umgeht] what it encounters [dem Begegnenden]. Whatever others deal with and where they abide: that is the surrounding worldliness [das Umweltliche]. Within the surrounding world we encounter concerned engagement, and through this — and, usually, through it alone — we encounter others. Even our 'direct' encounter with others happens within the context of the surrounding world. We encounter others working in a room, in the street. on the way to or from work, while they are busy running errands [besorgend], or simply hanging around doing nothing [bummelnd im Nichtstun].
The surrounding world lets the 'being-in-it' of others be there through the primary ontological mode of concern; others and their 'being-in' are encountered by my 'being-in-the-world'. This encounter — which occurs ordinarily and for the most part via the surrounding world — is the having-to-do-with-each-other, the being-dependent-on-each-other, or the having-nothing-to-do-with-each-other; it is reckoning with or counting on others. The 'with' of others, which is already present in the [26] state of concerned 'being-in-the-world', may take the form of being for or against each other or going along together indifferently. Even when we use others as an instrument, the signification [Verweisung] is such that. by reckoning with these others, we encounter the signification in terms of concern [als besorgend begegnet].
The ordinary already-there-ness of others [Das niichste Schon-da-sein der anderen] in that with which they are concerned comes into particular focus when the primary ontological character of the world is understood in terms of significance. The world in which we meet one another is not an occurring context of natural things, but the world where we abide, occupied with something. The answer to the question of who, ordinarily and for the most part, Dasein is was provided implicitly in the foregoing
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