Maria Teresa Russo

As philosopher, I have always appreciated what Gaston Bachelard says in La poétique de l’espace: “La maison est notre coin du monde. C’est notre premier universe” (“Home is our corner of the world, it is our first universe”). In fact, dwelling is taking root in a place where “we have the keys”, a guarantee of security and belonging, a physical space populated by objects that are part of everyday life. “Making home” also means carrying out a series of daily and recurring gestures. These rituals have a strong symbolic value: they are reassuring because through the control of space and time they contribute to creating a feeling of stability and are a concrete sign of caring for others. Feeling at home is also being at ease with people with whom we have bonds of reciprocity and gratuitousness, with those who are familiar to us. To build a more human world, we need to overcome the many crises of home: not only those caused by wars and emigration but also the difficulty of combining the “we” of proximity and welcome. A challenge as timely as ever, a challenge for all.

 

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Maria Teresa Russo, Ph.D. in “Philosophy and Human Sciences Theory”, is Full Professor of Moral Philosophy and Bioethics at Roma Tre University. She has been Editor in chief of the peer-review journal “MEDIC. Methodology & Education for Clinical Innovation”. She has been visiting professor at the University “Jean Jaurès” of Toulouse, Santiago de Compostela, Pontifical University of Santiago de Chile. Member of the scientific board of Italian and International journals: «Per la Filosofia», «Critical Hermeneutics», «Aurora. Papeles del Seminario María Zambrano». Her main research focused on the Spanish and French contemporary philosophy, ethical issues of healthcare and embodiment, with special reference to the Women’s Studies.