On shelters and boundaries. Some interpretative paradigms

Abstract

The theme of the essay is linked to some interpretative paradigms on the concepts of ‘refuge’ and ‘borders’ in a geo-philosophical perspective. Through the analysis of the notion of xenos, elaborated by Plato in the Laws, the proposed text continues by investigating the concept of “humanity” in Edmund Husserl and the concept of “errant values” in Albert Camus, to then conclude with the concept of hostes/hospis elaborated by Derrida and “borderline” according to Jean-Luc Nancy. The foreigner, far from being understood as an inaccessible “other” to be annihilated, is here identified as a correlative to one’s own ego.