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I looked it up on Wikipedia and got this:

Ontical refers to a particular area of Being, whereas ontological ought to refer to Being as such.

Ontic vs. Ontological

I also read the above, but I don't even think I understood the answer.

But this is so vague that it doesn't make any sense. Does "ontical" mean observing something and determining at it's surface level, while "ontological" mean what it is in relation to Being, for example, determining its purpose?

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  • You should not expect quick and ready descriptions of Heidegger's terms, they are not Wikipedia material. The meanings depend on background in phenomenology, as well as placement in his own self-constructed system, and are often quite idiosyncratic and deliberately opaque. Very roughly, ontic can be compared to descriptive, positive knowledge-that about things, whereas ontological refers to instrumental, intuitive knowledge-how, see IEP's Heidegger on Method – Conifold Apr 14 at 9:46

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