Landscapes of the Sacred #1

"Heidegger insisted that ''place' places man in such a way that it reveals the external bonds of his existence and at the same time the depths of his freedom and reality...'Place' is the house of Being.' For Heidegger, a 'person' is a Dasein, literally translated as a 'being there.' A person by definition, then, is one who is 'placed,' one who is 'there.' Yet despite this longing for anchored existence, a feeling of displacement is today the persistent experience of the 'homeless mind.'" p.7

Belden Lane uses Heidegger to introduce human beings as people that belong in a particular place. Heidegger in his very characterization of humanity as Dasein articulates this, arguing that human beings are people who are there. However, Heidegger also argues that Dasein need to be shaken from their place in the world and the apathy that it causes. Because of this, I wonder if place can also contribute in the movement away from the ambiguous world and into the more authentic self. Furthermore, I wonder what the implications of this are for the homeless or housing insecure populations. If humanity, as part of our essence, is longing to be at home, how does this impact those who will never have a home? However, those around us may create a sense of home more than a physical building can. The experience we have in a place could make it home instead of a title to the land.

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