Kamusal İnsanın Çöküşü

There are books that are groundbreaking in their fields and that it is difficult to say anything new without confronting them. The Fall of the Public Man, one of the masterpieces of Richard Sennett's history of thought, is such a book: an intellectual feast from history to sociology, from psychology to anthropology.

In The Fall of the Public Man, Sennett examines with originality and intellectual depth the causes of the imbalance between public life and private life and the problems caused by this imbalance. According to him, "public life", which is the part of life other than family and close friends, was once "full of life" and very important for people. There was a publicity that increased people's playing ability and enabled them to socialize/civilize by establishing emotional bonds with "strangers". This publicity, which found its full expression in the European cities of the 18th century, lost its weight over time and was replaced by "private life". Public life has now become as important as private life.
Sennett says that today, we are deprived of the multidimensional relationships and pleasures we can have with people we do not know but live in the same city, and asks the following questions: How did the stranger turn into a threatening element? How did silent viewing become the only way to live public life? How did being alone become a right? How did private life become the center of attention? Why do we evaluate politicians based on their personal characteristics rather than their actions and programs? Why are our streets dirty even though we take care of our homes?

Sennett deals with, from a historical/social perspective, how we cannot open our hearts to anyone other than our loved ones and friends, as public spaces cease to be living spaces and turn into places we pass by, how our personalities that are closed to private lives become increasingly stunted, and how losing our ability to play games with other people diminishes us. He explains this process by looking at the writings of Balzac and Diderot, the music of Paganini and Liszt, theater and audience behavior, architecture, the Dreyfus Affair and the career of Richard Nixon, and everyday examples of private and public life such as speech and clothing styles. It examines the public silence and loneliness of people who are captives of their private lives with modernity, and the history of becoming a person who watches rather than lives. Despite all this, Sennett does not despair. Instead of dreaming of a lost public paradise, he explores the possibilities of "getting to know the other" by minimizing suspicion, in an environment where people are as comfortable and safe as among close friends, where play is important and kindness is maintained. For those who want to say "hello" to the "other" on the street... Radikal Book Supplement Advertisements, E-Bulletin



Number of Pages: 480

Year of Printing: 2013


Language: Turkish
Publisher: Details Publications

First Printing Year: 1996

Number of Pages: 480

Language Turkish