Of tennis courts and fireplaces: Neurath's internment on the Isle of Man and his politics of design

Henning, MC ORCID: 0000-0003-3798-7227 (2019) Of tennis courts and fireplaces: Neurath's internment on the Isle of Man and his politics of design. In: Neurath Reconsidered: New Sources and Perspectives. Boston Studies in the Philosophy and History of Science, 336 . Springer,Switzerland, pp. 413-434. ISBN 978-3-030-02127-6

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Abstract

Otto Neurath’s version of functionalism is one that begins with people “as we find them,” a proposition first set out in his 1917 essay “The Converse Taylor System.” Any attempt to redesign the existing furnishings of everyday life must take into account “functions” that go beyond the obvious purpose of objects: functions that are to do with sociability, happiness, familiarity, the love of “coziness,” and that address the diversity and contradictoriness of people. This essay considers how Neurath applied and made use of these ideas about design in 1940s Britain, during and after his internment on the Isle of Man between 1940–1941 and in talks, papers and correspondence from this period. It does not focus on the Isotype Institute, which would usually be considered his principal intervention in design, but on his commentary on everyday objects and practices. In particular it centres on four items – tennis courts, fireplaces, chairs and shoes – and through these elaborates some of the connections between Neurath’s ideas about the design of everyday life, and the significance of everyday practices, and his logical empiricism.

Item Type:	Book Section
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Otto Neurath, functionalism, logical empiricism, design, internment, everyday life
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	26 Sep 2019 15:27
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 00:25
DOI:	10.1007/978-3-030-02128-3_15
Related URLs:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3056013