Thomas Sheehan is professor of religious studies at Stanford University and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago, USA

Sheehan’s invaluable 'paraphrase' pays rigorous attention to the text, its time, and Heidegger’s commitment to phenomenology. Even more important is Sheehan’s interpretation of Heidegger’s question of being as the question of intelligibility, the way things mean or matter to us. I know no more helpful guide to Heidegger’s masterpiece.

• ForewordPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsI.THE PARAPHRASEHeidegger’s Preface to the Seventh Edition (1953)The Untitled Exergue (1927) General Introductionto the Whole of Being and TimeTHE QUESTION OF HOW BEING IS UNDERSTOODChapter 1: The necessity, structure, and priority of this question§1 Necessity: the need to reopen this question §2 Structure: formulating the question §3 The ontological priority of ex-sistence§4 The ontic priority of ex-sistenceChapter 2: The two-fold task, the method, and the outline of Being and Time§5 SZ I: Fundamental ontology §6 SZ II: Dismantling the history of ontology §7 Method: Phenomenology §8 Outline of the book SZ, PART ONEFUNDAMENTAL ONTOLOGYDIVISION ONE: THE PREPARATORY ANALYSIS OF EX-SISTENCE Preface to SZ I.1Chapter 1: The task of a preparatory analysis of ex-sistence§9 Introduction to the analysis of ex-sistence §10 Ex-sistential analysis vs. other approaches §11 So-called “primitive ex-sistence” and the need for “a natural conception of meaning” Chapter 2: Involved in meaning§12 Our involvement in meaning: a preliminary sketch§13 Subject-object thinking Chapter 3: The meaning-giving world§14 IntroductionSubdivision A:The practical world of meaning §15 How we encounter useful things §16 How a world of praxis shows up §17 Signs: A special kind of useful thing§18 The structure of a world of praxisSubdivision B:Descartes’ interpretation of “world” Preface §19 Descartes: The being of material things is extension in space §20 Descartes: The “world” is comprised of extended substances §21 Descartes’ ontology of “world”: a hermeneutical discussion Subdivision C: The spatiality of worlds of praxis and of ex-sistence Preface§22 The spatiality of useful things §23 The spatiality of ex-sistence §24 The spatiality of the world and of ex-sistence. The ontology of space Chapter 4Who I am in everyday livingPreface§25 The question of who I usually am §26 Sociality: my own and that of other people §27 My crowd-self Chapter 5: Involvement as such§28 Involvement itself (In-Sein): An overviewSubdivision A: The field of intelligibility: its ex-sistential structure§29 Affect holds open intelligibility§30 Fear is a mode of affect §31 Aheadness holds open intelligibility§32 Working out the projectedmeaning §33 Declarative sentences §34 Ex-sistence as logos Subdivision B: The field of intelligibility: its absorbed modesPreface §35 Casual talk §36 Curiosity §37 Ambiguity §38 Absorption and movement Chapter 6: Ex-sistence as engaged§39 Introduction to ex-sistence as a unified whole §40 Experiencing ex-sistence through dread§41 Engaged in making sense §42 A fable about cura §43 Realness §44 Ex-sistence and “truth” II.THE ANNOTATIONSHeidegger’s Preface to the Seventh Edition (1953)The Untitled Exergue (1927) General introduction to the whole of Being And Time: The question of how being it understoodChapter 1: The necessity, structure, and priority of this quesrtion§1 Necessity: the need to reopen this question §2 Structure: formulating the question §3 The ontological priority of ex-sistence§4 The ontic priority of ex-sistenceChapter 2: The two-fold task, the method, and the outline of Being and Time§5 SZ I: Fundamental ontology §6 SZ II: Dismantling the history of ontology §7 Method: henomenology §8 Outline of the book SZ, PART ONE: FUNDAMENTAL ONTOLOGYDivision One: The Preparatory Analysis of Ex-Sistence Preface to SZ IChapter 1: The task of a preparatory analysis of ex-sistence§9 Introduction to the analysis of ex-sistence §10 Ex-sistential analysis vs. other approaches §11 So-called “primitive ex-sistence” and the need for “a natural conception of meaning” Chapter 2: Ex-sistence is involved in meaning§12 Our involvement in meaning: a preliminary sketch§13 Subject-object thinking Chapter 3: The meaning-giving world§14 IntroductionSubdivision A: Practical worlds of meanings §15 Useful things §16 How a world of praxis shows up §17 Signs: A special kind of useful thing§18 The structure of a world of praxisSubdivision B: Descartes’ interpretation of “world” Preface §19 Descartes: The being of material things is extension in space §20 Descartes: The “world” is comprised of extended substances §21 Descartes’ ontology of “world”: A hermeneutical discussion Subdivision C: The spatiality of worlds of praxis and of ex-sistence Preface§22 The spatiality of useful things §23 The spatiality of ex-sistence itself §24 The spatiality of the world and of ex-sistence. The ontology of space Chapter 4Who I am in everyday livingPreface §25 The question of who I usually am §26 Sociality: my own and that of other people §27 My crowd-self Chapter 5: Involvement as such§28 Involvement itself (In-Sein): An overviewSubdivision A: The field of intelligibility: its ex-sistential structure§29 Affect holds open intelligibility§30 Fear is a mode of affect §31 Aheadness holds open intelligibility§32 Working out the projected meaning §33 Declarative sentences §34 Ex-sistence as logos Subdivision B: The field of intelligibility: its absorbed modesPreface §35 Casual talk §36 Curiosity §37 Ambiguity §38 Absorption and movement Chapter 6: Ex-sistence as engaged §39 Introduction to ex-sistence as a unified whole §40 Experiencing ex-sistence through dread§41 Engaged in making sense §42 A fable about cura §43 Realness §44 Ex-sistence and “truth”APPENDICESBibliographies1. Heidegger’s German Texts and Their English Translations 307 1.1 Texts within the Gesamtausgabe 1.2 Texts outside the Gesamtausgabe 2. Other Texts CitedTerminologyGerman to EnglishEnglish to GermanIndex