The Limits of Heidegger’s Earth

Earth is a key concept in Heidegger’s later philosophy, suggesting many things. For instance, philosophers and humanities scholars alike have used it in various ways to think about the human relation to nature and the environment. Earth has also been used to romanticise Heidegger’s philosophy: we can counter the exploitation of nature by modern technology by retreating to special earthly places in harmony with nature. Earth suggests a materialist

element in Heidegger’s thought, as well as a reactionary politics of “blood and soil.” My argument will take a different position from all of these. I will argue that Heidegger’s concept of earth is the “constitutive insufficiency” of modern technology.