About heroes and isolation

A House for Doing Nothing

Doing nothing was proposed as one of the most elevated experiences by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in his “Rêveries du Promeneur Solitaire” when he describes his isolation in a semi abandoned lake island, saying “I am now alone on earth, no longer having any brother, neighboor, friend or society other than myself.“

The current state of the world, maybe The End of History described by Francis Fukuyama, where he remarks the need for distinguishing between what is essential and what is contingent or accidental in world history, is an evidence of this human sense of isolation, while at the same time, we’re all connected.

 A responsible political understanding of nowadays condition would be the background of a responsible house: a refuge for a hero of the global north challenging himself in concepts of political responsibility. The house itself is supposed to be a responsible device but it may already introduce to a new concept of responsibility while in the same time it gives a perspective towards an idiosyncratic notion of irresponsibility [founded in today’s participation in the social phenomena]: it is a project of self criticism

The reference of Rousseau’s islands is clearly represented in the way the house exposes its inhabitant: with no walls, playing with transparence in a continous dialogue with the exterior. Just like Raimund Abraham’s House with Curtains, born from his poem entitled “Elements of the House” written in 1972, where he indicated often opposing sensations and feelings:

“The house is the junction of:
dreams
illusions
death
[...]
conflicts
confrontations
movement
penetration
walls
[...]
transparencies
transcendence
the horizon
infinity.”

- Could it be the perfect place for us to think and discover the new relational skills for a different era, where the first step would be to stop and do nothing?

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Este post son segmentos de A House for Doing Nothing | Political Attitudes from Secluded Place (puedes leerlo completo aquí), que a su vez en parte de un diálogo o "blogiscussion", entre Léopold Lambert, Aristide Antonas y dpr-barcelona. Puedes leer el artículo de Léopold en The Funambulist y la respuesta de Antonas unos días después en su propio blog.