1.2.2 UNFOLDING FOUR ASPECTS ‘THE THING’
OF
In the chapter ‘The Thing,’ Heidegger delineates the intangible qualities of the tangibles. This intangible quality of the tangibles brings the distinction from one to another tangible object and man comes to know this distinction by the experience. These intangible qualities occur from its tangible manifestation, without that it would not exist for man to experience. Hence, there is something in the tangible itself which contributes to its intangible qualities. ‘The Thing’ helps to understand this phenomenon occurring in our world by being. For example, as Heidegger has discussed an example of a bridge that swings across the banks of the river with ease and power. It is the nature (intangible quality) of the bridge. Similarly, a brook, a forest, shoes, poetry, a temple – each of them has their own nature as a ‘being’, which is called ‘the thingness’ by Heidegger. An object differs from ‘The thing,’ as the thing occurs due to its nature of being. Also ‘The thing’ is modest in numbers when compared to countless, valueless objects found everywhere in this time of mass production, and a measureless mass of human beings living on earth. To explain the essence of nature of being (‘The thing’), Heidegger uses specific concepts, and his own analogy to name these concepts. Here the chapter of ‘The thing’ is divided and interpreted as the four parts to analyze the ‘the thingness.’ These four concepts are, 1) Nearness – the meaning 2) Fourfold – earth, sky, mortals, and immortals 3) Making – gathering of earth, sky, mortals, and immortals 4) Two-fold holding – the potential of the tangibles Abstracting this four concept is an attempt to understand the intangible aspects which altogether brings out the nature of the tangibles. This is done by drawing parallels to architectural concepts and thereby deriving architectural parameters.
Understanding Heideggarian thought
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