Kurt Lewin

Lore & Background

Kurt Lewin first introduced hodological space in the early part of the 20th century, before his exile in the United States. The concept emerged from his attempt to use mathematical concepts to deal with psychological problems, drawing on Albert Einstein's notion of "field space" and modern topology theory. Lewin believed Euclidean space is hardly experienced by humans since built physical spaces do not accommodate following a straight line. He used hodological space to expand the nonquantitative but mathematical representation of structure and position in psychology so that it includes the dynamic and vectorial aspects of the field. At the time, topology was a new field, and Lewin stated, "To some degree it is possible to give a general mathematical solution using a kind of space which is defined through the possible paths between points, and which one may call 'hodological space.'" His conceptualization identifies hodological space as a space that matters, as paths that link people together or distances that keep them apart.

Reader's Guide

Hodological space is articulated by a nonquantitative, mathematical analysis that does not necessarily involve the consideration of distance. The distance between points A and B in such space may differ from the distance from B to A, as when one feels the distance from home to school is greater or shorter than from school to home. The space is described as more general than Euclidean or Riemannian space, but not as general as topological space, where distances or directions cannot be defined. Lewin's conceptualization was more mental than physical. According to Gilles Deleuze, hodological space concretely holds the sensory-motor schema as the field of forces, oppositions, and tensions are resolved according to their goals. Drawing from Lewin's idea that hodological space is equated with conscious and planned movement across measurable Euclidean space, Deleuze believed it can be applied to the ability to judge actions in moral terms. Deleuze also put forward the concept of time-image, which transpires prior to hodological space.

Did You Know?

• The term 'hodological space' comes from the Greek word *hodos*, meaning 'way.'
• Lewin's concept was based on Albert Einstein's notion of 'field space' and mathematics from modern topology theory.
• Hodological space involves 'preferred paths' that compromise between shortest distance, security, minimal work, and maximum experience.
• In hodological space, the distance from point A to B may be different from the distance from B to A.
• The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre used Lewin's concept in his essay 'Sketch for a Theory of Emotions' to describe lived-space as 'hodological' in nature.