Dwelling in nature

[Assigned reading]

Geo Aesthetics draft

In his essay Homelessness Countering the Destruction of Home: a Return to Sensuous Communication, Kip Redick discusses how dwelling in a place can be beneficial to human awareness and appreciation of the environment. He quotes Heidegger's rendition of dwelling saying, “To dwell, to be set at peace, means to remain at peace within the free, the preserve, the free sphere that safeguards each thing in its nature”. This dwelling is helpful to having sensuous encounters with the wilderness that can help preserve the condition of the Earth. Heidegger says, “Mortals dwell in that they save the earth . . . to save really means to set something free into its own presencing . . . Saving the earth does not master the earth and does not subjugate it”. Dr. Redick advocates pilgrimage and "homelessness" as a method in which we can dwell in a place that we are a visitor in. Being a visitor in the wilderness allows nature to grant hospitality that may not be possible through being a tourist.

How can we dwell in a place that is the human environment?

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