Heidegger on Dwelling

Heidegger notes that buliding is the manner in which mortals dwell on earth. To dwell is more than to simply reside or have an address somewhere. To dwell requires a certain receptivity. To dwell requires to reveal the Fourfold. What is the fourfold? The fourfold is a unity of four different things. Each of the four parts of the fourfold can only be truly understood in relationship with the other parts. First, there are the mortals. Mortals dwell on this earth and have the capacity to regard their death as death; this just means that we can think of death not just as a stopping point of our lives but as something that unifies and brings meaning to our lives. We can imagine that our lives will end in the sense that a big project has come an end. Second, there is the earth. The earth is what nourishes us and sustains us. The earth is where we get the resources for our projects. Third is the sky. The sky represents open possibilities. Whereas the earth is grounded in practical possibilities, the sky is open. Fourth are divinities. Divinities are inherently beyond human comprehension.

To dwell, then, means to reveal these four things in association with one another. A peasant farmhouse makes a place to divinities to be welcomed as divinities--which means that we wait for divinities as something unknown. The roof of a farmhouse is steep to avoid snow building up. This represents a way in which dwelling requires the ability to be open to possibilities. Also, the farmhouse is placed on the protected side of a mountain. This shows how the dwelling takes advantage of practical possibilities already present on the earth. And this is a place of dwelling for mortals as it serves our human purposes.