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Components Of Heidegger's Fourfold

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Heidegger 's fourfold is a central aspect of dwelling, and mortals are an essential component of this fourfold. The fourfold consists of earth, sky, divinities, and mortals. When we think of one, we also think of the other three. This fourfold is an essential part of dwelling, as three of the components are what allow mortals to dwell, which is why mortals are an essential part of the fourfold. There is unity amongst these by the fact of dwelling. Human beings unify the fourfold together through being on the earth as mortals, dwellers, builders, and thinkers. Mortals bring each component of the fourfold into their essence through our dwelling. Dwelling is the primary way we as humans relate to the way that we are on earth. Building is a form of our dwelling, "We attain to dwelling, so it seems, only by means of building. The latter, building has the former, dwelling, as its goal." (pg. 347). Humans can only build since we are already dwelling on the earth. We build by inserting our constructed buildings into our world, and we dwell where we build, "We do not dwell because we have built, but we build because we dwell." (pg. 350). Building brings about our relationship between thought and the space we have created. Thinking allows us to become aware of ourselves and our space, our actions are what create this space. The relationship between thought and space is dwelling. We get a sense of dwelling by instilling our being into a particular space. According to Heidegger,
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