citizens, policy-makers are rethinking what values make good neighbourhood” “the and other writers are reflecting, sometimes from a religious viewpoint, on new understandings of good city” creative communities built upon negotiation, “the – collaboration and compromise as positive virtues. In this context, two Jesuit social thinkers strongly influenced by Ignatian spirituality, the Frenchman Michel de Certeau and the American ethicist David Hollenbach, offer interesting insights. The late Michel de Certeau (1925-1986) was arguably one of the most creative interdisciplinary thinkers of the late 20th century – historian of Christian spirituality, mysticism and early Ignatian sources but also philosopher, cultural theorist, student of psychoanalysis and social scientist. Michel de Certeau wrote a volume called The Practice of Everyday Life, a second and wrote other scattered reflections on cities. In the Jesuit Constitutions the Jesuit way of life is characterized as way of proceeding” (Part “our 1, Chapter 2, para 152) to be adapted to places and persons”. Throughout The “times, Practice de Certeau uses this Ignatian terminology in his procedures of everyday “the creativity”, procedures” or of proceeding”. Equally, Ignatian “everyday “ways fluidity and adaptability is echoed in de Certeau’s preference for the everyday tactics of ordinary people on the street as opposed to the totalitarian strategies of the politically powerful which he critiqued. De Certeau’s approach to everyday practices is value-laden. In describing everyday life, its practices and of proceeding”, “ways he was not making a detached social scientific observation. Rather he sought to inspire his readers uncover for themselves, in their own situation, their own “to tactics (a struggle for life), their own creations (an aesthetic) and their own initiatives (an ethic)”.
citizens, policy-makers are rethinking what values make “the good neighbourhood” and other writers are reflecting, sometimes from a religious viewpoint, on new understandings of “the good city” – creative communities built upon negotiation, collaboration and compromise as positive virtues. In this context, two Jesuit social thinkers strongly influenced by Ignatian spirituality, the Frenchman Michel de Certeau and the American ethicist David Hollenbach, offer interesting insights. The late Michel de Certeau (1925-1986) was arguably one of the most creative interdisciplinary thinkers of the late 20th century – historian of Christian spirituality, mysticism and early Ignatian sources but also philosopher, cultural theorist, student of psychoanalysis and social scientist. Michel de Certeau wrote a volume called The Practice of Everyday Life, a second and wrote other scattered reflections on cities. In the Jesuit Constitutions the Jesuit way of life is characterized as “our way of proceeding” (Part 1, Chapter 2, para 152) to be adapted to “times, places and persons”. Throughout The Practice de Certeau uses this Ignatian terminology in his “the procedures of everyday creativity”, “everyday procedures” or “ways of proceeding”. Equally, Ignatian fluidity and adaptability is echoed in de Certeau’s preference for the everyday tactics of ordinary people on the street as opposed to the totalitarian strategies of the politically powerful which he critiqued. De Certeau’s approach to everyday practices is value-laden. In describing everyday life, its practices and “ways of proceeding”, he was not making a detached social scientific observation. Rather he sought to inspire his readers “to uncover for themselves, in their own situation, their own tactics (a struggle for life), their own creations (an aesthetic) and their own initiatives (an ethic)”.
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