Home: A Phenomenological Approach

Abstract

Found this book in the University Library Catalogue after using the search term "place". Also read "Heidegger and the poetic human dwelling" by Singh from the same book (see elsewhere in this database). In this article Küle wants to investigate the possibility of studying space and home from a phenomenological perspective. She starts the article with the important claim that phenomenology isn't traditionally a method that is very focused on space - rather, the opposite is true! Husserl developed the phenomenological method as something which focuses mainly on the element of time, not space. In his phenomenological reduction the element of space is entirely absent, even, because it is a purely mental effort (in consciousness). So the first question Küle needs to answer is whether it is possible to use the phenomenological approach to study space, despite the fact that it is such a time-oriented and a(nti)-spatial method. She concludes that it is possible to use phenomenology despite this point since it has been taken up by many researchers for topics that weren't initially included in the program. She then turns to Husserl's work to find instances where he discusses the home. She concludes that in his work the home is viewed as an object of intention, "...an intentional experience emanating from the subject." [p. 99] She writes: "Classical phenomenology is not interested in home as an object unrelated to the intention of consciousness (as an object in terms of the philosophy of realism). That is why a phenomenological approach does not deal with a building, house which has noting to do with human experience but only with home as an intentional object within the horizon of the human life world. Home is not the physical space in which we live. The building, its parameters, materials, the square meters, heating, lighting and all the technicalities are the realm of civil engineers. Philosophical reflection begins where these technical and physical parameters touch upon experience as life experience - Erlebnis." [p.99] In phenomenology there is a widespread and often used notion of "Umwelt". "Umwelt is the world perceived in the person's acts, existing is his memories and thoughts, felt, evaluated, subjected to action, technically formed by him; the world which is being thematically experienced and reflected upon in connection with the things appearing in it. Umwelt is the world for me as a person. The person is the center of Umwelt." [p. 99-100] The theme of Umwelt is relevant to a phenomenological enquiry into space, because it points out that any experience always takes place in the "here", the center of spatial experience. Then Küle turns to Heidegger's conception of space and home, particularly his Letter on "humanism". She points out that in Heidegger's notion of Dasein we already find a spatial element: Da means here. After that she discusses the work of O.F. Bollnow, entitled Mensch und Raum. Bollnow makes a distinction between mathematical space and inhabited space. "The main characteristic feature of mathematical space is its homogeneity: no point in space is specially singled out, all are of equal worth. [...] The inhabited space, on the contrary, has a special center point around which it is formed. The center is Man himself. There is a special system of coordinates which takes root in its relations with a human body." [p. 104] For Bollnow the home means a place of peace, where he can withdraw from the world and feel safe. A quote from Bollnow: "Um sich in der Welt erhalten und dort seine Aufgabe erfüllen zu können, braucht der Mensch einen Raum der Geborgenheit und des Friedens, in den er sich zurückziehen, in dem er sich entspannen und wieder zu sich selber kommen kann, wenn er sich im Kampf mit der Aussenwelt aufgerieben hat." [p. 105-106] Bollnow, unlike many other philosophers discussing home and place, is rather optimistic in his views on the ability of man to find and create such a safe have. "To his mind, Man is capable of making space inhabitable and meaningful and so the main question is not whether it is possible, but how it happens." [p. 106] "According to O.F. Bollnow, home is the middle of the world. It provides existential security. The theme of home as the embodiment of security is worked out as a philosophical principle. It does not refer to the socio-political situation. It goes without saying that many people in the world are driven out of their homes for political reasons, live in exile and lose the possibility of returning. [...] However, in philosophy that is not the point. The existentially-tended philosophy considers that social and economic structures do not determine the inhabited space, it is determined by man's own subjectivity, his attitude to the world." [p. 108] At the end of the article Küle follows the general trend under philosophers of place in stating that place-making and home-making are becoming harder and harder in the current age, and that this is a worrisome development.