The Homelessness of Being invites readers to consider what it means to be human. This dialogue between sociology and the early and middle phases of Heidegger’s writings argues that to be human is to be homeless. This homelessness is not one of materiality, of being houseless, but one that is ontological: the homelessness that constitutes the essence of humanity, where one is disconnected from the essence of one’s self or being. Prashan Ranasinghe theorizes this homelessness as an indeterminate nothingness, where the notion of being is unsettled because it is an amalgam of something and nothing. More broadly, the book adds to existing debates about whether—especially after the global pandemic—the social sciences have failed to explore everyday affects such as anxiety and boredom as revelatory of the essential homelessness of being human. It will interest philosophers, sociologists, and scholars engaging with Heidegger’s ideas.

Prashan Ranasinghe is an associate professor in the Department of Criminology at the University of Ottawa.

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“The Homelessness of Being will challenge social scientists and philosophers to reflect on the role of the human in accounts of the social world. Ranasinghe formulates a humanist ethic through a close reading of Heidegger’s work and illustrates the relevance of this ethic to the analysis of social life.” Tad Skotnicki, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

“Prashan Ranasinghe sets out to provide a space for dialogue between sociology and the philosophy of Martin Heidegger. Via patient philosophical reflections, he develops original insights into the social and ontological nature of ‘moods.’” —Thomas Kemple, University of British Columbia