Whitney Humanities Center Working Group
Ever since its earliest known writings, philosophy, in the course of its own pursuits, has engaged with the built environment, addressing it as a backdrop for an argument, a metaphor for an idea, a source of information, a trigger for reflection, and increasingly as a subject in itself. The heyday of these ventures occurred during a highly prolific, diverse, intense, and consequential interdisciplinary exchange with avidly curious architects and urbanists in the late 20th century, with effects that continue to reverberate in the way these disciplines work today. But architects are not always the authors of built works, and even when they are they remain but one element, albeit an important one, of the systems that shape the massively impacting ever-present setting of our everyday lives that is the built environment. Now canonical authors in architectural theory like Walter Benjamin, Martin Heidegger, Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard, and many others spoke of modern designs as well traditional homes constructed by their owners or local guilds, and of rooms, roads, railways, bridges, streets, gardens, temples, museums, prisons, towers, monuments, cemeteries, shopping arcades, urban fabrics, and even ruins, reading them with a variety of idiosyncratic outlooks that brought forth all kinds of illuminating and influential insights.
What should we talk about today? How does philosophy contribute to an understanding of the built environment? And how does the built environment as a topic inform contemporary thinking? What is there to be said and gained from these discussions by those who shape the built environment, not just architects, planners, and landscape designers, but others too, like engineers, scientists, lawmakers, speculators, activists, artists, and all of us users of these spaces? As these domains change along with the world within and upon which they operate, so do the potentials for their interactions. What are, or ought to be, the important debates concerning the built environment in the present and immediate future, and what role does philosophy play in them? What new ideas, approaches, authors, and works might illuminate them?
The Philosophy and the Built Environment Working Group tackles these questions on a monthly basis. Each session dives into a particular topic drawn from discussions on what these should be, why, and how to pursue them. Participants are invited to focus on material they themselves proposed in advance, ranging from reading to projects, with the support of special guests knowledgeable on the issue. All those interested in taking part, regularly or dropping by for specific sessions, are encouraged explore tentative new ideas in an informal, intellectually stimulating and disciplinarily diverse setting.
Upcoming Meetings
Past Meetings
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Meeting #1: Laying out the Working Group’s Agenda Discussion led by André Patrão |
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Meeting #2: Themes of Antiquity Discussion led by Ishaan Jajodia and Leland Stange |
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Meeting #3: The Art of Building Idols Discussion led by Kyle Dugdale |
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Meeting #4: Reimagining the Past (with Nietzsche and Bergson) Discussion led by Eeva-Liisa Pelkonen |
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Meeting #5: Does Language Have a Downtown? Notes on the Parable of the Builders Discussion led by Paul Grimstad |
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Meeting #6: James Bernard Murphy: Are today’s ‘machines for living’ a rehearsal for colonising Mars?: Architecture as an Escape from Nature The Philosophy of Built Environment Working Group would like to invite you to our first meeting of the term, a discussion led by Dartmouth College Professor of Government James Bernard Murphy ’80 PhD ’90. Professor Murphy received a Master’s degree in City Planning from MIT and worked as a city planner in New York City before returning to Yale to read for PhDs in Political Science and Philosophy. The topic of our discussion will be: “Are today’s ‘machines for living’ a rehearsal for colonising Mars?: Architecture as an Escape from Nature”. Wine and cheese will be served, and the event will be held in the Elm Institute library at 31 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511. While not strictly mandatory, it would be helpful to read J.D. Bernal’s The World, The Flesh, and The Devil. |
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Meeting #7: Jamila Jaxaliyeva, Yale University: Steppelands 2.0 Jamila Jaxaliyeva, is a Master of Foresty candidate at the Yale School of Environment. This talk will explore how the philosophy of the built environment can inform the development of a modern system for nomadic lifestyles in Kazakhstan, particularly in the context of the steppe. Historically, Kazakhstan’s nomadic way of life was intricately connected to its governance, creating a sustainable relationship with the land. The Soviet Union’s push toward sedentarism disrupted this harmony, severing the cultural and governance ties rooted in mobility. Now, as Kazakhstan seeks to rediscover its true identity, the talk will argue for a return to nomadic traditions, supported by modern technology and infrastructure. It will challenge the misconception, often stemming from Soviet and modernist views, that nomadism is a backward form of civilization. The presentation will propose that tribalism, far from being a negative force, complements the nomadic lifestyle and offers a model for sustainable governance. In this context, the talk will highlight how modern approaches to the built environment can help revive and sustain Kazakhstan’s nomadic heritage for the future. |