EXCERPT Original Theme Da-sein is a being that is not limited to appearing among other beings. Rather it has the following ontic distinction: in its being this being is concerned about its very being. Thus it is constitutive of the being of Da-sein to have, in its very being, a relation of being to this being. And this in turn means that Da-sein understands itself in its being in one way or another and more or less explicitly. It is proper to this being that it be disclosed to itself with and through its being. Understanding of being is itself a determination of being of Da-sein. The ontic distinction of Da-sein lies in the fact that it is ontological. —Being and Time, §4, SZ 12. …