Philosophy of the Home

Domestic Space and Happiness

By Emanuele Coccia, Translated by Richard Dixon

PHILOSOPHY

208 Pages, 111 x 181

Formats: Trade Paper

Trade Paper, $21.99 (US $21.99)

Publication Date: September 2024

ISBN 9781802061017

Rights: US

Penguin Random House UK (Sep 2024)
Penguin

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Overview

A bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom - are these rooms all that make a home? Not at all, argues Emanuele Coccia. The buildings we inhabit are of immense psychological and cultural significance. They play a decisive role in human flourishing and, for hundreds of years, their walls and walkways, windows and doorways have guided our relationships with others and with ourselves. They reflect and reinforce social inequalities; they allow us to celebrate and cherish those we love. They are the places of return that allow us to venture out into the world.

In this intimate, elegantly argued account, Coccia shows how the architecture of home has shaped, and continues to shape, our psyches and our societies, before then masterfully leading us towards a more creative, ecological way of dwelling in the world.

Reviews

I have been waiting for Philosophy of the Home. Coccia’s reflections take you through the complexity of the notion of home – not merely as a place, but as a space of philosophy, history, politics, and art - Hans Ulrich Obrist -

A precious guide … There is so much more at stake than the material quality of a place for living … For us human beings, the house represents the universe - Chris Dercon -

An insightful book that illuminates the rooms you live in and makes you understand what they mean - - la Repubblica

A hymn of praise for the home - - Die Presse

I absolutely DEVOURED this book and have been recommending it to every architect and academic I know - Jessica Helfand, a founding editor of Design Observer -

Author Biography

Emanuele Coccia is a philosopher teaching at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris. He has lectured and taught courses at several universities, including Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam, Harvard and Columbia, and collaborated on many art exhibitions in France and Italy. He is the author of numerous books translated into several languages, including The Life of Plants (2018). He is a columnist for Libération and collaborates with Le Monde and La Repubblica. He is currently writing a book on the relationship between fashion and philosophy with Gucci's creative director Alessandro Michele.
Richard Dixon lives and works in Italy. His translations include works by Giacomo Leopardi, Umberto Eco, Roberto Calasso, Paolo Volponi and Antonio Moresco. His translation of The Experience of Pain by Carlo Emilio Gadda is published by Penguin Classics.

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