BECOMING MONK

Abstract

Organization is built on the rudiments of the monastery and monastic life. In this the cell plays a crucial part, as the space for contemplation and thinking. However, according to Peter Sloterdijk thinking becomes problematic as the monkish cell offers no messages because God doesn’t answer. The question is if this is also the case for organization. In other words can thinking in organization result in a fruitful endeavor. To investigate this and to get a sense of of any possible options I have retreated into a monastery on two separate occasions. This implies living with the monks and being able to contemplate in my own cell. This can be referred to as becoming monk. The monasteries that I lived in are from the benedictine monk and architect Dom van der Laan and from the architect and artist Le Corbusier together with modern composer and architect Xenakis. Both of these monasteries are specific structures as these were built as Gesamtkunstwerke. This means that it is not just the cell that plays its part but the whole assemblage. With the help of the Heidegerrian notion of Hütten-Dasein and the Serresian notion of becoming-musician I indulged in cell being and becoming monk. This investigation reveals relevant information on organization, architecture, thinking and monastic life.