(…) A nossa essência é não ter essência no sentido de características específicas ou tarefas ou actividades que nos são atribuídas pela nossa natureza. As rochas têm uma essência definida que não pode ser alterada; os animais são guiados pelo instinto e não podem refletir sobre o que devem fazer. Mas nós somos, até certo ponto, não formados, o que significa que cabe a nós formarmo-nos a nós próprios. Tornamo-nos num tipo particular de pessoa ao vivermos uma vida particular, tomando aquilo a que Heidegger chama decisões “existenciais”, o que significa que pertencem a um Dasein específico, por oposição às características “existenciais” que todos os Daseins têm (SZ:12).
“Dasein,” an ordinary word for existence in German, is used as a technical term for beings like us in the book, specifically beings (14) with the ability to be aware. Another potential terminological landmine appears here: Heidegger uses the term “existence” exclusively for our way of being so, technically, only Dasein exists; other things have their own ways of being. Heidegger initially defines Dasein as the entity for whom, “in its very Being, that Being is an issue for it” (32/12). This means that “we cannot define Dasein’s essence by citing a ‘what’ of the kind that pertains to a subject-matter . . . its essence lies rather in the fact that in each case it has its Being to be, and has it as its own” (32-3/12). Our essence is to have no essence in the sense of specific features or tasks or activities assigned to us by our nature. Rocks have a definite essence that cannot be changed; animals are guided by instinct and cannot reflect on what they ought to do. But we are to some degree unformed, which means that it is up to us to form our selves. We become a particular kind of person by living a particular life, making what Heidegger calls “existentiell” decisions, which means that they pertain to specific Dasein, as opposed to “existential” features that all Dasein have (33/12). To connect this distinction with a previous one, existentiell qualities are ontic ones that pertain to particular Dasein whereas existential features pertain to our ontological way of being that is common to all Dasein. (p. 13-14)