deficient mode of concern

is cases such as daydreaming which serve as the exceptions that prove the rule: even what appears to be disengagement is just a less intense form of engagement.

Often, of course, we do not feel wrapped up in our surroundings: we are bored, or daydreaming, or relaxing. But for Heidegger, these are simply "deficient modes" of concern (83/57). The "deficient mode" is a typically Heideggerian concept that is all too easy to parody. ("Being and Time is crystal clear, but in a deficient mode", readers have been known to quip.) The idea is that cases such as daydreaming are the exceptions that prove the rule: even what appears to be disengagement is just a less intense form of engagement.

deficient mode of concern, n.All

deficient mode of concern