I asked GPT to get a background:

In Time and Being (or Zeit und Sein), Martin Heidegger introduces the concept of the "event" (Ereignis) as a central element in his later philosophy. The term Ereignis can be difficult to translate, often rendered as "event," but it carries a richer sense in Heidegger's thought, implying something more like "enowning" or "appropriating event."

In the context of Time and Being, Heidegger's "event" refers to the way in which Being itself unfolds or reveals itself to human beings. It signifies a dynamic process rather than a static thing, where Being (the fundamental nature of reality) "appropriates" or "enowns" entities (including human beings) into its unfolding. This "event" is the happening where time, Being, and human existence come together.

The key ideas of the event in Heidegger's thought are:

1. The Unfolding of Being: The event is the process through which Being reveals itself to us. It is not something that happens at a particular moment but is an ongoing happening that lets entities, including humans, "belong" to Being.

2. Interplay Between Time and Being: In Time and Being, Heidegger explores the intimate relationship between time and Being. The event is where time (understood not as linear clock time, but as a more primordial, existential temporality) and Being intersect. Time is the horizon within which Being reveals itself through the event.

3. Enowning or Appropriation: The term Ereignis also carries the sense of "appropriation," meaning that in the event, entities are drawn into their proper place or meaning within the unfolding of Being. Human beings, through their existence, are "appropriated" into this event of Being.

4. Beyond Metaphysical Thinking: The event concept reflects Heidegger's later move beyond traditional metaphysics, which focuses on beings (entities) in a fixed, static way. Instead, Heidegger wants to think about Being itself as an active, dynamic process.

In sum, Heidegger's event in Time and Being is a way to describe how Being, time, and existence are intertwined in a dynamic unfolding process, where human beings play a crucial role in the revelation of Being through their existence and experience of time.

For God’s sake don’t start with Heidegger. If you haven’t built up the lexicon of the field of phenomenology you’ll just get terribly frustrated and throw the book directly out the window. And it has nothing to do with intelligence, it’s just really dense stuff.

Start with some intro to phenomenology, then pick a writer whose summarized viewpoint resonates most with you, and then start reading that person, slowly.

I write about existentialists such as Sartre represented in a videogame here:

nostr:nevent1qqsw6zk3hfqeemp8ulcts0efvnrupltuy2jx9hwrmkmvxku4qpawm3spzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsygqcfqcn257n0ljvhk966tttcc3hv9wh8l9yvnkm9505x4vspn6y7cpsgqqqqqqskxgw2g

TBH because I’m familiar with much of his lexica, and have read several other of his later works which were even more esoteric, I’m finding this to be his most straightforward reading so far.

What’s really funny is I remember trying to reading him 15 years ago, and I was so frustrated:

“Why can’t you just fucking say what you want to say in a meaningful way, you wretched cunt!”

I totally get why now, and unfortunately understanding Heidegger is a slog.