Being and Time (German: Sein und Zeit) is a 1927 book by the German philosopher Martin Heidegger, in which Heidegger seeks to analyse the concept of Being. This has fundamental importance for philosophy, he thought, because since the time of the Ancient Greeks, philosophy has avoided this question, turning instead to the analysis of particular beings. Heidegger seeks a more fundamental ontology through understanding being itself. He approaches this through seeking understanding of beings to whom the question of being is important, i.e. 'Dasein', or the human being in the abstract. Although written quickly, and though Heidegger did not complete the project outlined in the introduction, Being and Time remains his most important work.