present-at-hand

is a tool's 'way of being' when some task breaks down and the tool's 'way of being' suddenly takes on an in-your-face 'presentness' in your hand.

PRESENCE-AT-HAND IS A TERM FOR ENTITIES IN THE WORLD WHICH ARE UNDERSTOOD THEMATICALLY 1. presence-at-hand pertaining to entities within the world which is understood ontically as a category.PRESENCE-AT-HAND IS A TERM FOR 2. presence-at-hand pertaining to Dasein (plural, that is as pertaining to Being-in) and therefore understood ontically as a 'quasi-object', Although to see it in this way we must ignore the concept of Being-in.HEIDEGGER'S TERM FOR SOMETHING THAT EXist: (1) THAT PERTAINING TO ENTITIES WITHIN THE WORLD WHICH IS UNDERSTOOD ONTICALLY AS A CATEGORY(2) THAT PERTAINING TO DASEIN AND THEREFORE UNDERSTOOD ONTICALLY AS A 'QUASI-OBJECT'(3) THAT PERTAINING TO A PRE-ONTOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING OF DASEIN WHICH A PARTICULAR DASEIN HASHeidegger's term for something that exist. There are three kinds of presence-at-hand identified so far: 1. presence-at-hand pertaining to entities within the world which is understood ontically as a category. 2. presence-at-hand pertaining to Dasein (plural, that is as pertaining to Being-in) and therefore understood ontically as a 'quasi-object', Although to see it in this way we must ignore the concept of Being-in. 3. presence-at-hand pertaining to a pre-ontological understanding of Dasein which a particular Dasein has. This is understood onto-ontologically and does not ignore the concept of Being-in. (munday) PRESENT-AT-HAND IS A WAY OF BEING OF WORLDLY ENTITIES INVOLVING A THEORETICAL ATTITUDE: READY-TO-HAND: THE WAY OF BEING OF THINGS ENTITIES WITH DETERMINATE PROPERTIES. IN OUR AVERAGE DAY-TO-DAY COMPORTMENTS, DASEIN ENCOUNTERS EQUIPMENT AS READY-TO-HAND,Heidegger's account of comportment is related to his distinction, in Being and Time, between the present-at-hand and the ready-to-hand. These describe two ways of being of worldly entities. We are aware of things as present-at-hand, or occurrent, through what we can call the 'theoretical attitude.' Presence-at-hand is the way of being of things entities with determinate properties. Thus, a hammer, seen through the detached contemplation of the theoretical attitude, is a material thing with the property of hardness, woodenness etc. This is to be contrasted with the ready-to-hand. In our average day-to-day comportments, Dasein encounters equipment as ready-to-hand, (internet encylopedia: Phenomenology)

is that which can be thematically ascertained.

the present-at-hand as that which can be thematically ascertained. (heidegger BT : 106)

is, you might say, a philosophical defamiliarizing of an object. If, for example, the head flies off our hammer or if you’re thinking philosophically, you can see the hammer as a strange wooden shank with an iron blob on the end.

And there is another level while we're at it which Heidegger calls the "present-at-hand" which is important too. We can get in the stance of just staring at the object. If the hammer-- if the head flies off the hammer for instance or if the nails are missing or if we're just feeling in a relaxed attitude of wonder, we can see the hammer as a wooden shank with a iron blob on the end. Then we see it as a object with properties: it weighs, say, one pound. That's the level too that philosophers have always studied. There's a whole logic of subjects and predicates discussed in what's called the predicate calculus.

is the level of science or theory; its a tertiary way of seeing the world; by no means representative of everyday coping, or of reasoning through a sudden breakdown.

That has its place Heidegger would say, but that's a third level down the line after you left out the everyday coping and even left out the practical situation in which things can break down, because that hammer isn't even a broken down hammer it's just a piece of wood with metal on the end. But that's important too Heidegger would say because it's by relating those kinds of predicates with laws that we get science and theory. And Heidegger thought science and theory was very important. He has what he called an existential account of science in Being and Time. But what's important to him is to realize that to get to these predicates and laws of science, you have to leave out the whole level of practical coping in the world. So you shouldn't have the idea that scientific theory that can explain causal things very well could ever explain the everyday, meaningful world of significance that Heidegger wants to talk about.

is a pejorative way to refer to things insofar as things are taken as physically present, or visible to us by way of concepts.

present-at-hand. A negative term used by Heidegger to refer to things insofar as they are physically present, or visible to us by way of concepts. In both cases, things are reduced to their relations to other things, and stripped of any concealed, mysterious layer. Presence-at- hand is arguably the major enemy of Heidegger’s entire philosophy. He believes that his greatest breakthrough in philosophy was to oppose the reduction of the world to presence-at-hand, which enabled him to renew the question of being.

is arguably the major enemy of posing the question of being.

is a mode of being where things become cognized and consciously interpreted; that is, not just used invisibly (ready-at-hand), but interpreted as tools, as weapons, or as items of entertainment.

Putting these two sides of the story together, we find that the world is ambiguous, or two-faced. On the one hand, things hide from view and go about simply being whatever they are (which Heidegger calls “past”). On the other hand, things become present with certain characteristics through being interpreted as tools, weapons, or items of entertainment (which Heidegger calls “future”).

is about properties, but those properties are not universal. A thing’s presence depends on what is encountering it. For a dog, a baby, an ant, or a parrot, most of the hammer’s usual properties are not there at all.are not there at all, which shows that the presence of a thing is also determined by those who encounter it.

This means that the being of the hammer is always absent; it labors silently in invisible depths, and is not “present-at-hand,” to use Heidegger’s term. But absence is only one side of the story. Hammers, candles, and trees cannot be only absent, because then we would never see anything or have any relations with anything at all. Yet quite obviously, the hammer is also present: I see its wooden handle and metallic head, feel its weight, and interpret it either as a tool for building, an item of hardware priced for sale, or a weapon for hand-to-hand combat. For a dog, a baby, an ant, or a parrot, most of the hammer’s usual properties are not there at all, which shows that the presence of a thing is also determined by those who encounter it.

present at hand, n.All

present at hand