The way in which we have envisioned the critique of knowledge has led us to a beginning, to the mainland of givenness, of which we may avail ourselves and, above all, of which we appear to stand in need: to fathom the essence of knowledge I must naturally possess knowledge in all its questionable forms as given, but in such a way that this givenness has in itself nothing of the problematical character that the other forms of knowledge bring with them, however much they might appear to offer a givenness of their own.