Odell proposes ‘standing apart’ to replace retreat and exile

Evidence

Some hybrid reaction is needed. We have to be able to do both: to contemplate and participate, to leave and always come back, where we are needed. In Contemplation in a World of Action, Merton holds out the possibility that we might be capable of these movements entirely within our own minds. Following that lead, I will suggest something else in place of the language of retreat or exile. It is a simple disjuncture that I’ll call “standing apart.” — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 232

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces and names the central term of the chapter and of the book’s argument.