Dwelling space: between home and the strange An approach to the studies of dwelling from a Phenomenological and Psychoanalytical Perspective

OSSWALD, ANDRÉS MIGUEL

Praga

Conferencia; Conferencia en el seminario permanente del Central-European Institute of Philosophy; 2018

Central-European Institute of Philosophy (CIF)

Froma phenomenological perspective a house is primarily a certain mannerof experiencing space and time. Thus, as an experience,neither is homely dwelling necessary related to a fixed place nor isthe house always a building that provides a shelter from the outsideworld. By contrast, the experience of being at home is a subjectivephenomenon that could be motivated by reasons that are subjective aswell: the taste of a meal that recalls the flavors of a distant time,the smell of a book that encourages us to read it, the feelingsawakened by a photo of someone beloved, or even better, the companyof someone beloved, etc. The common character that defines theessence of these different kinds of phenomena lies in the familiaritytowards persons, things and places that they let arise. Such a senseof familiarity suggests the presence of time in things. By virtue oftime, things could bear a history with them and therefore they couldrefer not only to our own past but to others as well. Consequently,space becomes «familiar» when it contains things with a meaningfulhistory and «abstract» and «strange» when it lacks time. Hencethe experience of being at home involves not only a relation betweenspace and time but also a distinction between a «familiar world»,characterized by its normality, and a «strange world», that extendsbeyond the limits of the familiar sphere. The specific attributesthat define a world as familiar vary naturally among subjects andcommunities but in every case they determine a normality that becamethe common measure to understandand valuate both familiar and strange worlds. Accordingly, aphenomenology of the house deals not only with the problem ofhospitality but also with the analysis of the phenomena of limits andmeasurement.Thereforeit is necessary to distinguish between a dwelling space, that possesan existential character, and an objective space characterized by theabstraction of its subjective meaning. Consequently the objectivespace is homogeneous -i.e. all its element are interchangeable- andtherefore it is passible to be quantify. In other words, theobjective space lacks of center: there is no point of view that givesit an orientation. The quantification, on its part, allows to projectinfinitely the properties observed in a limited plot of the space. Bycontrast the dwelling space is personal and as such it is surveyed byqualitative differences that prevents the exchange and thequantification of places.Thefollowing consideration on the study of homely, familiar spaces andits opposite, the strange and uncanny, will focus specially on thespaciality involved in the experience of dwelling. In this context, Ipropose to gather the main aspects of the inquiry into the notions of«home world» (Heimwelt)and «alien world» (Fremdwelt),developed by Edmund Husserls in the 20´s and 30´s. Secondly, Iexpose Martin Heidegger´s appraisal on the opposition between thehomely world of everyday life and the Unheimlichkeit inSein und Zeit (1927). Afterwards I sumarise the distinction between the concepts ofHeimische (homely) andUnheimische (unhomely)in the same author.Finally, I present the abnormal experience of home as is described bySigmund Freud in his work Das Unheimlichkeit (1919).p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }