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Ontology is fundamental in the thought of Jonas, since his eminent professor Heidegger inspired him. However, the originality of the thought of Jonas relies on the criticism of the existential aspect of Heidegger's work. In fact, this existential aspect gives the primacy to Dasein, by insisting on the methods of the being rather than on the being itself. He operates within the comparison between the nihilism that is generated by the ancient gnosis, and the one implied in the contemporary nihilism of Heidegger in Being and Time. The duality which opposes men and God in the ancient gnosis leads to an individual isolation within a world that is perceived as hostile and foreign. This is found in a similar way in contemporary times in an "existentialism" that defines the individual as a being that has been "thrown into" this world, and who is consequently exposed to worry and anxiety. This criticism will allow Jonas to find the roots of nihilism and to develop a new "categorical imperative."