''Why is there something and not nothing?'' - Martin HeideggerLiving a life comes with a degree of usualness and familiarity. Waking up, brushing our teeth, reaching for our iPhone, kissing our loved ones, cooking, daydreaming, meeting friends, working; these are some of the simple ways in which we find ourselves always already in the midst of activities, habits and involvements. Although something unexpected or extraordinary, like a divorce or a pandemic, are obvious ways in which this flow of familiarity can be interrupted, this book deals, instead, with cases of being shaken out of the usual when nothing has changed, when the same beings and activities that had so far appeared familiar suddenly feel most unfamiliar. But how can what is most usual become most unusual, when nothing has changed? Anxiety versus fear, wonder versus curiosity are some of the ways in which philosophers have described such moments as encounters with nothing. What does it mean to be anxi
