The Paradox of Home in Heidegger’s Philosophy

Mateja Kurir

doi:10.25038/am.v0i29.561

Authors

Mateja Kurir Independent Researcher, Ljubljana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i29.561

Keywords:

Martin Heidegger; phenomenology; das Unheimliche; uncanny; architecture.

Abstract

Heidegger’s philosophy has influenced largely the humanities and arts and has also been a source of interest in architecture. Although Heidegger has written on architecture, this paper will argue that one of the key topics in his philosophy, intertwined with architecture, is the concept of home (das Heim). In Heidegger’s philosophy, the homely (das Heimische) was intertwined with its opposition, the uncanny (das Unheimliche). This paper discusses the different understandings of home in Heidegger’s seminal works. The paradoxical structure of home in Heidegger’s philosophy is discussed, as home in Heidegger’s philosophy is impossible for modern man with his horrifying nature, perpetuated by the uncanny.

Author Biography

Mateja Kurir, Independent Researcher, Ljubljana

Mateja Kurir is a philosopher, researcher, editor, and project manager. Her research interests focus on architecture and its social and political context. With a doctoral thesis on the architecture in modernity, she obtained a PhD from the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana (2014). As a member of the Radio Student, she prepared a series of radio shows Arhitektura govori (Architecture Talks, 2012–13) and Misliti arhitekturo (Thinking Architecture, 2017–18). She was visiting researcher at the Department of Architecture, KU Leuven University, Belgium (2015), and postdoc researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies, University of Rijeka, Croatia (2017). Currently, she is the manager of LINA, the European Architecture Platform. She published Arhitektura moderne in das Unheimiche: Heidegger, Freud in Le Corbusier (INR, 2018) and co-edited Garden and Metaphor (MAO and BF, Ljubljana, 2021). As the editor of O oblasti v arhitekturi (On Power in Architecture, Igor Zabel Association and Maska, 2021) Kurir received the Plečnik's Medal 2022 in the field of architectural theory, criticism, and publication.

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The Paradox of Home in Heidegger’s Philosophy

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Author Biography

Mateja Kurir, Independent Researcher, Ljubljana

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