Earth

Abstract

Previous to Heidegger there was no problem of the earth in philosophy. However, the early Greek philosophers did have the problem of physis which Heidegger considers akin to his problem of the earth.¹ The Greeks did not explicitly work out their problem of the world and its implication in the problem of physis; therefore, for them physis was the problem of the world as well as the problem of the earth. For Heidegger also, the earth and the world are not two separate problems when taken ultimately. The openness of Being is the world, when considered with the emphasis on revealing, and is the earth, with the emphasis on concealing. Consequently, Being can be treated as the earth as well as the world, and ultimately the earth and the world, if not explicitly, at least implicitly, involve each other. Hence, the Greek physis can be considered as Heidegger’s earth although they are not wholly identical.