This Element offers a novel account of Heidegger's understanding of the human.

By way of an analysis of Heidegger's use of the elements of earth, water, air, and fire as a means to describe the unfolding of being, this Element offers a novel account of Heidegger's understanding of the human. By covering a variety of texts from the late-20s through the early-50s (including several of his recently published Black Notebooks), this Element demonstrates the manner in which these elements comprise, for Heidegger, the very being of the human.