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Construir ,Habitar ,Pensar

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Group exhibition catalogue which includes contributions from architects which challenge the viewer with their ideas both about the architecture of building more generally, and, more importantly, the creative social architecture that is erected everyday by the acts of normal people. Works, drawings, models and details are reproduced in colour and accompanied by essays.

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First published January 1, 1954

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About the author

Martin Heidegger

515 books3,227 followers
Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) was a German philosopher whose work is perhaps most readily associated with phenomenology and existentialism, although his thinking should be identified as part of such philosophical movements only with extreme care and qualification. His ideas have exerted a seminal influence on the development of contemporary European philosophy. They have also had an impact far beyond philosophy, for example in architectural theory (see e.g., Sharr 2007), literary criticism (see e.g., Ziarek 1989), theology (see e.g., Caputo 1993), psychotherapy (see e.g., Binswanger 1943/1964, Guignon 1993) and cognitive science (see e.g., Dreyfus 1992, 2008; Wheeler 2005; Kiverstein and Wheeler forthcoming).

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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
Profile Image for Fergus, Weaver of Autistic Webs.
1,270 reviews18.4k followers
November 19, 2024
Many thanks to Geoff, on this page, for telling us that this book is in the public domain, and where to find it.

My own ancient copy is now either discarded or secreted in some unknown box - here, at home, among our vast book collection.

Home for Heidegger was sacred, as it is for us - a place where the fractious jagged edges of Being-In-The-World melt and meld into domestic harmony.

Like being there with a wife, husband or old friend, who says what you're thinking before you say it.

This work shows us the way to that kinda attunement.

The way the world is heedlessly teetering into another Dark Age - a thought central to Heidegger's late thought in this book, if you take Geoff up on his kind offer, and read it - nowadays sets our teeth on edge.

The prevailing consumerist thinking treats the world around us as only a means to an end! And that - alas - includes purpose-driven thinking.

We need to find a way out, and know it when we find it. And we find it here. Thinking must reflect our own memories and values to be valid.

Thinking is not just about getting what we want!

Strangely, as Doris Lessing wisely noted, the answer lies not in the outer world - but in "Inner Space - for there is (especially now) nowhere to go but Within." Like our reaction to a good novel.

A victim of psychiatric head games, I know the feeling of total devaluation - and knew it back when they sequestered me. I stuck to my guns. I clung to my inner space.

But I should have paid more serious attention to books like this, for they counsel discretion. We must find our real selves and dwell there.

Discretion is key to Heidegger - for it takes all kinds to make up a world. The world for him was, summarized, Fourfold: a composite comprised of Earth and Sky, Mortals and Divinity.

Each is a symbol of a widely inclusive essence. And being taught by Jesuits as a youth, Heidegger knew careful discernment is key to understanding their differences.

The only wisdom is the Wisdom of Discernment. Discernment is stepping back from the world and taking a meditative look at its real face.

But discernment is born also in the darkness of our inner self, when we probe it with our questioning. Let yourself be carried into its inner Cloud of Unknowing while you probe and compare your own motives and those of the world.

Our worlds are in constant flux, but the discernment that is established in inner darkness can give our worldview pillars to support our ethical vision.

The world outside may sneer, but nothing good comes from gentrified pride. Pierce the world's side with your deep perception and see into its entrails...

So here at rest, finally being at home now - in this life-threatening age - has distinct advantages to all of us Introverts:

And Heidegger show us how to really appreciate our Dwelling -

Free from the storms of life.

READ this book. Why not?

It's free too. Just see where to go, at Geoff's review.
Profile Image for Wolf .
75 reviews2 followers
April 2, 2023
« De studie van de filosofie kan ons op de meest hardnekkige wijze voorspiegelen dat we denken, aangezien we toch´filosoferen’. »

Dat mens al wonend is, aldus bouwend, aldus dichtend…
Profile Image for David.
41 reviews
March 20, 2023
no me esperaba que me fuese a gustar tanto pero es brutal y nos permite pensar le problema del desarraigo y el habitar del mundo en la época de la razón técnica, una pasada
Profile Image for Dustin J Allen.
120 reviews1 follower
February 9, 2019
I think about as good as 20th century German philosophy gets 🤷‍♂️
Profile Image for Manu Hortet.
27 reviews8 followers
April 24, 2021
A digression around the concept of dwelling. The first half discusses the significant linguistic root of the word 'bauen', and how its progression hid the dwelling connotation from it and hopelessly set apart the ideas of building and dwelling. I am not in a position to properly analyze this, but I am taking away the idea of language being able to evolve in an arbitrary (non human driven) manner which can end up altering our understanding of chore concepts.
- El hombre se comporta como si fuera él el creador y el maestro del lenguaje, cuando en realidad es el lenguaje el que se adueña del hombre.)

The second part focuses on the relation between the concept of dwelling and the idea of building, space and places. It is a sort of divagation around psychogeography, being this the human understanding of spaces and its relationship with our way of being and thinking. Heidegger defends that being as an experience is inevitably built upon dwelling by our known spaces and places, but won't dig deeper nor explain this dependence.
- Ser significa habitar persistiendo a través de los espacios sobre la base de la permanencia junto a cosas y lugares.
- La relación hombre y espacio no es otra cosa que el habitar pensando en su esencia.

Short and easy to swallow but filled with relevance. I really enjoyed this.
Profile Image for Fedor.
65 reviews1 follower
October 16, 2017
My hypothesis is that Heideggers attentive 'thinking' [An-denken] - 'answering the call of Being' -
corresponds with Buddhist notions of meditation: a non-representative (subject-object) state of perceiving the world. In other words: Heidegger 'proofs' for me that European philosophy has the same roots as certain spiritual and religious traditions in Asia (and other parts of the world).

So do you want to know what Heidegger exactly conveys with this kind of thinking? Just meditate, make a long hike in nature, practice your yoga poses or write it out till you don't think about 'it' any longer. Philophical inquiry can pose a arduous and difficult journey, but in the end the answers are often surprisingly simple.
Profile Image for Mohammad Dashti.
187 reviews
February 19, 2021
اثناء حديثه عن ان ماهية السكن هي وحدة الرباعي (الارض والسماء، الالهيين والفانين)، تذكرت بيت جدتي رحمها الله القديم، حيث يجمع البيت شجرة السدرة والنخله، الحوش
المفتوح، الحسينية المنزلية الصغيره، والغرف.

وكما استحضرت غرفتي، والتي اشعر بها بما يحاول ترجمته هايدغر لنا (نداء السكن)، تحوي الغرفة دون اي سابق تخطيط او تنظيم مني، "الدريشة"، النبات الصغير، السرير والمكتبة، الصور واللوحات المنتثرة التي تحوي اسماء الائمة، الصور التشبيهية لهم، صور لاضرحتهم، كما ان هناك صور لمن رحل ممن احب واود، سواء من العائلة او الاصدقاء او من لم التق به بعد ومن مضى قبل ان اولد حتى.

هذا هو هايدغر كالعاده، لا يتركك كما كنت، ولا يدعك ترى ما ترى مثل ما كنت تراه.

"لكن حالما يتأمل الانسان فقدان الموطن لا يبقى هذا بؤساً، انه، -اذا تأملناه بكيفية سليمه وراعيناه بكيفية جيدة- النداء الوحيد الذي يدعو الفانين الى السكن.
Profile Image for Bryan Boshoven.
23 reviews
August 12, 2025
Één van de betere latere werken van Heidegger waarbij het vierkantsdenken van de viering wordt geïntroduceerd; aarde, hemel, goden en stervelingen wonen allemaal in dezelfde wereld zonder dat we het ons beseffen. Hier wordt expliciet gemaakt wat in zijn eerdere werken nog verborgen zat tussen de zinnen.

Zeer verfrissende lezing gegeven door Heidegger en een mooi alternatief voor het posthumanistische. Het denken dat hier tentoongesteld wordt is op een poëtische wijze zeer goed verenigbaar met moderne ecologie. De poëtische kracht is natuurlijke een zeer sterke retorische methode om het meest banale, zoals een kruik?, te veranderen in een wereld vol Goden en stervelingen (lijkt net een fantasie boek).

Zou deze werken, misschien het deel over denken iets minder, sterk aanraden als je geïnteresseerd bent in de "latere" Heidegger met veel inzichtvolle voetnoten.
78 reviews2 followers
March 11, 2025
"De la simplicidad en la que tierra y cielo, los divinos y los mortales se pertenecen mutuamente, el construir recibe la indicación para su edificación de lugares [...]. Salvar la tierra, recibir el cielo, esperar a los divinos, guiar a los mortales, este cuádruple cuidar es la esencia simple del habitar. Así, las construcciones genuinas imprimen su sello en la esencia del habitar y brindan una casa a esta esencia."
Profile Image for carlota.
32 reviews1 follower
June 2, 2025
this was so good!!!! I loved Heidegger’s writing and the way he connected all of his individual thoughts to make up this single and unique form of expression.

the only thing for me is that this guy apparently hates science or something????? dude you can’t hate facts for a living

:)
Profile Image for Kai.
156 reviews3 followers
Read
May 26, 2021
nth time reading this...
- Dwelling is the character of Dasein
- Dasein belongs in this familiar world
- Have we forgotten how to dwell?
87 reviews1 follower
December 16, 2022
Precioso opúsculo de Martin Heidegger acerca del acto construir. Uno de los textos más influyentes de la arquitectura y el urbanismo modernos.

Según el alemán, construir es habitar; ambas actividades son mutuamente dependientes. Es a partir del edificio, de la construcción, que convertimos espacios anónimos en lugares familiares. El edificio deviene un centro de referencia a partir del cual medimos distancias, tamaños, límites y significados.

Dice Heidegger que construir es en el fondo dejar ser a la cuaternidad. Esta ontología viene definida por cuatro elementos: tierra, cielo, divinos y mortales. Habitar por tanto, consiste en la convivencia orgánica de estos cuatro elementos, donde cada elemento refleja y se reflejan en los otros dando como resultando la esencia del lugar. Así, un puente -el ejemplo que utiliza en el texto-, lo es en tanto que reúne de una forma particular a estos cuatro elementos.

Este alegato no se entiende sin su enclave cronológico: 1951, momento de plena reconstrucción urbanística después del desastre causado por la 2GM. Un momento donde las ciudades se ven más necesitadas que nunca de una construcción rápida, automática y mecanicista. El texto de Heidegger nos advierte del peligro. Nos recuerda, que de nada sirve construir si no es desde el, y el para, habitar. De lo contrario, estaremos construyendo espacios vacíos, espacios muertos.

Una obra imprescindible para todo profesional relacionado con el diseño o con cualquier otra profesión materializadora.
Profile Image for Andreu Garcia.
1 review
December 18, 2023
A part de que detesto Heidegger, perquè "el espacio és algo espaciado", el tema és bastant interessant i dóna una aplicació ètica a la filosofia poc clàssica en el camp de l'arquitectura
Profile Image for Andrew.
205 reviews16 followers
January 6, 2025
Αριστούργημα περί κοσμολογικής κατοίκησης και οντολογικής ανεστιότητας, εμμένον βέβαια σε μεταφυσικές διερωτήσεις, παραλείποντας την οποία πολιτική εμβάθυνση (όπως κάνει παντού ο Heidegger )
Profile Image for Lidia.
16 reviews2 followers
December 31, 2020
Obra ideal para comprender uno de los grandes conceptos Heideggerianos: la técnica y el engranaje. Es sencillo de leer, sobretodo si se adquiere una base teórica previa del autor.
Profile Image for Brandon.
54 reviews
August 19, 2023
Architecture is fundamental to a lucid concept of existence
Profile Image for Joseba Bonaut.
248 reviews
May 25, 2025
Estupenda conferencia que da claves sobre nuestra existencia pero, sobre todo, genera más preguntas
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews

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