Biography
Braden Dyreson is a Master of Theological Studies student specializing in Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Princeton Theological Seminary. He previously earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, film production, and classics from the Pennsylvania State University with honors. His research focuses on 19th and 20th-century philosophy’s relationship to religion, politics, and the history of ideas, with a particular emphasis on the Frankfurt School of critical theory.
Paper Abstract
What is the hope found in roots for refugees, the unhoused, and those who lack roots? In a world marked by the displacement of peoples, increasingly due to ecological crisis, the question of rootedness seems pyrrhic to those who can never return to the place they previously called home. The language of dwelling and belonging often carves borders between peoples, reinforcing xenophobia towards those forced to flee their homes. Theodor Adorno responds to such unjust realities by declaring that an ethics located in displacement can provide both a robust critique of these conditions and a sliver of hope for the uprooted. He himself, being a refugee who fled from the Nazi government, writes in his philosophical autobiography of exile, Minima Moralia: Reflections from Damaged Life, a thesis entitled, “Refuge for the homeless.” The passage contends that dwelling is impossible, even for those who have a home, when economic oppression forces many onto the streets and authoritarian nationalism liquidates populations from their homes. Instead of desiring the security of rootedness, an ethics of homelessness provides the philosophical perspective and spiritual nourishment to build belonging for those who have no home. Therefore, Adorno’s admonition that “it is a part of morality not to be at home in one’s home,” compels not just obligation, but opportunity to have a critical rootedness. Such a sentiment resonates with many religious traditions’ locating of God in the presence of refugees, unhoused persons, and strangers. Such an ethic of homelessness challenges us to have a rootedness without roots, finding our homes not where we plant our feet but in moving to meet our fellow sojourners.