Peter Sloterdijk reinterprets Western metaphysics not as a focus on temporality, but as a spatial and immunological project, from the individual self to global and plural habitation. This volume, "Microspherology," introduces the concept of the "bubble" as the primary sphere of the self. He synthesizes spatial theories of thinkers like Aristotle, Descartes, Bachelard, Benjamin, and Bataille to analyze how we construct shared spaces, from ancient agoras to modern apartments. The book identifies being as intrinsically linked to aerial technologies of architecture and human development.
Readers will understand Sloterdijk's "microspherology" as the study of the self's initial spatial enclosure, the "bubble," and how this personal sphere relates to broader spatial configurations. The book offers a morphology of dwelling that integrates diverse philosophical approaches to space, demonstrating how our understanding of existence is tied to how we shape and inhabit physical and conceptual environments.
Key concepts
- Bubble — The primary sphere of the self, representing the initial spatial enclosure of individual existence.
- Globe — The exploration of world-scale spatiality, contrasting with the individual bubble.
- Foam — The poetics of plurality, representing a more complex, interconnected spatial arrangement.
- Immunological project — The interpretation of metaphysical history as concerned with self-protection and boundaries.
- Architectonics — The study of the aerial technology involved in building and shaping spaces.
- Anthropogenesis — The process of human development and its relationship to spatial environments.