Hans Blumenberg's anthropology is a philosophical discovery of the highest order. It begins with a simple yet profoundly consequential thesis: Because humans are the only primates that stand and walk upright permanently, they excel at two things: seeing and being seen. The optimization of visual perception comes with the risk of increased visibility. Being so exposed shapes their relationship with the world and makes them a virtuoso of self-presentation, as well as self-deception and self-concealment. Therefore, visibility also means that humans are opaque—both to others and to themselves. Blumenberg's richly material anthropology has its theoretical thread in this distinctly phenomenological orientation.