EARTH, WORLD, BEING
…gods are hiding not only in the primal forests and mountains of the earth but are present— incognito—in the streets of the cities as well. All things are divine so long as they are approached with consideration and care, that is, when we let them be as what they are—images – Robert Avens
Little of Heidegger’s main philosophical insights on Dasein and Being are understandable until we come upon his explanation of the differences between Earth and World, as expressed in On the Origin of a Work of Art, The Thing and Building, Dwelling, Thinking, and other works.
After all, we might ask what the term Being-in-the-World means. What is Being and what is World?
We find ourselves “thrown” into the world, learning (or being trained) to find our way using will, reason and intellect as guides. The indoctrination of society, which begins early, makes us into subjects not Selves. In the end we become subordinated to our own ignorance, going on to pollute the minds of the newborn.
As Heidegger succinctly pointed out, most of what we do in terms of our worldliness – eating, sitting, walking, driving, chatting, and so much more – is invisible to us by its proximity. We cannot say we are lucidly aware of it. Are we aware of the door handle every time we turn it to enter or exit a room? Are we conscious of typing on a keyboard, or of breathing? Apparently, our Being-in-the-World is accomplished with natural efficacy. Heidegger was interested in how and why this is the case.
Strangely, it’s no different when it comes to thinking. It’s not gratitude, that’s for sure, and its certainly not noticed. It’s something that “happens” to us without our being aware of it. This was also a major theme of Heidegger’s work. He pointed out that our language is yet another phenomenon that goes largely unthought. His famous statement again:
The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking – Martin Heidegger
