ABSTRACT
This chapter positions domesticity in general, and the house specifically, as an active agent – a means of self-exploration and expression, and a medium of ontological and spiritual orientations. It gives two case studies: Martin Heidegger's Black Forest hut and Henry David Thoreau's cabin on Walden Pond. Heidegger and Thoreau's writings are particularly expressive examples of how simple dwellings were positioned as a means to materialize, express, and embody important aspects of their philosophies. Subsequently, in their cases, the cultural and ontological roles of the domestic are expanded to include philosophical and spiritual issues. The chapter provides examples that illustrate how, to greater or lesser degrees, the rustic hut served, or was portrayed as, a simple shelter in service of an essential life, an antidote to the deficiencies of contemporary culture, a place deeply embedded in its natural surroundings, a means to realize reflective endeavors, a medium to materialize philosophical positions, and a setting where spiritual insights were possible.
