letting-be

is always letting beings be in a particular comportment that relates to them and thus discloses them, while also concealing beings as a whole

(5) "Precisely because letting be always lets beings be in a particular comportment that relates to them and thus discloses them, it conceals beings as a whole" (129-30).

is the essence of freedom, and thus the essence of truth.

Unlike a rock or a lizard, I am able to let beings be. Statement ( 4) says that letting-be is the essence of freedom, and thus the essence of truth. Of course, rocks and lizards can leave other beings unaffected, "letting them be" in this sense. But Heidegger means that human beings can allow other beings to show themselves as they are. I let the rain be: that is, I let it present itself to me in its own raining.

is not passive. It is engaging oneself with beings, being attentively involved with beings in a way that allows them to be exposed.

Letting-be may sound rather passive, but Heidegger also says, "To let be is to engage oneself with beings" (125). Engagement means being attentively involved with beings in a way that allows them to be exposed.

letting be, n.Definitions

letting be