the-soul-in-handmade-objects DIY Culture

DIY Culture

Does a Soul Reside in Things Made by Oneself?

About this topic

The question 'Does a soul reside in things made by oneself?' examines the true nature of the sense that handmade objects carry a special 'vitality' or 'personhood.' It explores the phenomenon in which the maker's time, effort, intention, and traces of failure are engraved into the object, making one feel that 'something' beyond a mere thing resides within it. From the perspectives of material culture, aesthetics, and spirituality, it considers why we sense a 'soul' in handmade objects, form attachments to them, and sometimes even speak to them.

Conceptual positions
01 Trace Theory

The view that the maker's traces left in the object (bodily movements, emotional fluctuations, accumulation of time) constitute the substance of the 'soul.' Failures and imperfections themselves are proof of the soul.

02 Relational Soul Theory

The view that the soul does not reside in the object itself but arises within the relationality of maker, object, recipient, and context. It is felt especially strongly in the context of gifts or memories.

03 Aesthetic Animism

The aesthetic view that the imperfection and individuality of handmaking give the object 'life-likeness.' The 'fluctuation' absent in perfect ready-made products is the source of the soul.

04 Phenomenological Approach

The view that respects the experience of 'feeling a soul' itself as a primary phenomenon prior to theory. The very fact that it can be felt substantiates the existence of the soul.

Talk entry points

  1. Among the things you have made yourself, is there one in which you particularly feel 'a soul resides'? Why is that?

  2. Have you ever received a handmade object from someone and thought 'I can feel a soul'?

  3. Have you ever felt a 'soul' more strongly in a failed or imperfect work?

  4. Do you feel a difference in the 'sense of soul' between handmade objects and ready-made products?

  5. When giving something you made yourself to someone, do you have the sense of 'giving it with soul'?

  6. If you could no longer make anything in which 'a soul resides,' how do you think your relationship with objects would change?

Conceptual tensions
Material vsSpiritual
Objects are ultimately material, yet why do we feel a 'soul'? The question is how to draw the boundary between materiality and spirituality.
Individual vsRelational
Does the soul reside within the individual maker, or does it arise within the relationality of maker, object, and recipient? The location of the 'soul' changes depending on which position one takes.
Perfection vsImperfection
Why do we feel a soul more in imperfect objects than in perfectly made ones? How to understand the paradox that failures and distortions function as proof of 'human-likeness.'
Permanence vsTransience
Handmade objects are fragile and transient, yet the maker's 'life' is eternally engraved—a contradiction. How to grasp the relationship between the permanence of the soul and the transience of the object.
Talk note

This theme is a space for dialogue to quietly sense the 'soul' residing in handmade objects, unrelated to perfection or market value. Let us respect each other's lives engraved in the objects, including failures.

Glossary
Soul / Spirit
Not in a religious sense here, but a general term for the 'vitality,' 'personhood,' and 'narrativity' that reside in an object. Refers to the state in which the maker's traces can be felt.
Material Culture
The totality of objects and environments that people create, use, and value. Handmade objects strongly carry traces of the maker's 'life.'
Trace / Imprint
Evidence of the maker's physical, emotional, and temporal involvement. Scratches, distortions, and color unevenness become proof of the 'soul.'
Animism
A primitive worldview that spirits reside in natural and artificial objects. A source of the sensibility that also runs through contemporary handmaking culture.
Attachment
Emotional bond to an object. Because handmade objects contain the maker's 'personal history,' they readily evoke special attachment.
Narrativity
The sense that an object 'speaks.' The power of the maker's experiences and emotions to be conveyed to others through the object.
Talk prompts
Ice breaker

Please tell me one 'thing you made yourself' in which you currently feel the strongest sense that 'a soul resides.' What kind of story do you think is contained in that object?

Deep dive

If you had never been able to make even one object in which 'a soul resides,' how do you think your life and your relationship with objects would have been different?

Bridge

While listening to the other person talk about a handmade object, quietly imagine 'what time and feelings are engraved in this object?' as you listen.

Further questions
  • Are there people who feel a 'soul' in objects made by AI? Will their numbers increase in the future?
  • By 'selling' handmade objects, is the soul lost, or does a new relationality emerge?
  • Do objects in which a 'soul resides' continue speaking even after the maker's death?
  • Does the way of feeling a 'soul' in handmade objects differ by religion or culture?
  • Does a culture exist that feels a 'soul' in mass-produced goods?
  • Is throwing away a handmade object an act of killing the soul?