Domestication of space versus homelessness: an ethical reflection on dwelling as a requirement of the vulnerable condition

Abstract

The lockdown imposed by the pandemic has brought the reality of the home to the forefront, redefining the categories of space and time in a different way and, consequently, prompting a reconsideration of the anthropological category of domesticity as well. The present contribution intends to explore the vulnerability of our condition in the light of the category of dwelling and the experiences of "feeling at home", which respond to the need for protection, for the establishment of relations with a non-threatening but familiar environment, that can safeguard one's everyday life and intimacy (Heidegger; Levinas). Being homeless or deprived of one's home has undeniable repercussions upon one's sense of identity and personal integrity. This essay also intends to highlight how two of the eidetic characteristics of the home, intimacy and domestication, are undermined today, due to the entry of new technologies which help transform the spatiotemporal dimension of structures and give rise to a process whereby the private seems no longer capable of guaranteeing intimacy.