To dwell well is to be who we truly are: to know a place that
shelters the best of our humanity, a place from which to see the
future with tranquility. So intrinsic is dwelling to the human
condition that philosopher Martin Heidegger drew parallels: As
the root of the German verb ‘to be’ is cognate with ‘to dwell,’
so a human being is a human dwelling. The old High German word
meaning ‘to dwell,’ buan, also means to cherish and protect what
surrounds you: your environment, in other words. In Heidegger’s
analysis, dwelling involves caring for the ‘fourfold:’ earth,
the divine, other humans, and sky. • The house as a dwelling
place for the body: the earth. • Education as a dwelling place
for the mind: the divine. • The economy as a dwelling place for
the other 99 percent of humanity. • The climate as a dwelling
place for all, like the unownable sky.