Sposoby życia przedmiotów. O trwałości dóbr materialnych

In: Kultura i społeczeństwo: kwartalnik = Culture & society : quarterly, Band 54, Heft 1, S. 17-34

Abstract

The article comprises an attempt to answer the question why some material objects are, in a social and cultural sense, more long-lasting than others. The answer lies in the model of the life-space of the things. This space is created by two basic dimensions. The first is defined by the character of the relationships created by the objects (this dimension comprises the opposition between the technical relations versus the communicative ones). The second is defined by the character of the relationship between the body of the user and the material object (this is created by the opposition: accessible or inaccessible to sensory experience). The transition of the material object through this space is the life-way of the object, and it is precisely this which defines the longevity of the object and thus the length of time it persists within a specific community. The author determines that long-lasting objects are above all those which are linked with the community, or users, by single, unambiguous relationships and links, while those which have ambivalent and multiple links are of shorter lifespan. Whether or not a thing has a long life or not is determined therefore by the multiplicity of meanings it has which render impossible its role as a stabiliser of the links that constitute a community, as a foundation of the individual's identity, a guarantee of ontological security.