# Being and Time by Martin Heidegger

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/being-and-time/

3 people recommended Being and Time by Martin Heidegger in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

2 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “"They're made out of weights"”.

**Verdict:** Admirers find its precise descriptions of the world and our embodied being mind-blowing; critics call it dense word play and advise studying philosophy first.

Summary written by Claude from 11 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Precise, insightful descriptions of being (2 comments in the sample): "It shows how our understanding of the world is, again, based on the fact that we are embodied beings." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48497971)) "every time, I am blown away how precise Heidegger describes things and the being of things" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48399097))
- Mind-blowing and rewarding to read (1 comment in the sample): "Its a wonderful piece of work and mind blowing in its own way." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400468))

## What people warn about

- Word play without clear substance (3 comments in the sample): "Heidegger just seems to play word games with German words without actually saying anything." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48397639)) "Yes, I'm ignorant, because Heidegger isn't saying anything. He didn't teach me anything." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400617)) "he's just playing word games with etymologies without saying anything" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48400133))
- Dense and hard to absorb (2 comments in the sample): "reading through Being-and-Time in a couple days on Adderall fried some brain cells and my perception of reality permanently" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48822257)) "it is ill advised to approach it without having spent quite some time studying the philosophical tradition" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48824241))

## Other philosophy books people recommend

- [Tao Te Ching by Laozi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tao-te-ching-translated/): 28 recommend, 2 mixed, 3 criticize
- [Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zen-and-the-art-of-motorcycle-maintenance/): 23 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize
- [I Am a Strange Loop by Douglas Hofstadter](https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-am-a-strange-loop/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 1 criticize
- [Meditations by Marcus Aurelius](https://hackerapproved.com/p/meditations/): 14 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Being and Time by Martin Heidegger", https://hackerapproved.com/p/being-and-time/ (3 recommend, 1 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.