The origin of the fourfold (Geviert). Heidegger's concept of world in his later philosophy and Plato's concept of kosmos in the Gorgias (507e–508a)

Abstract

AbstractThe paper discusses the parallels between late Heidegger's view of the world as a fourfold unity of earth, heavens, the divine and the mortal (the Geviert), and a passage in Plato's Gorgias (507e–508a) where the world (kosmos) is conceived of in a similar way. It is argued, first, that the Gorgias passage is not an isolated remark but rather a point where a number of important Platonic insights come together, and second, that Heidegger was well acquainted with these insights and pointed out their ontological significance on various occasions.