Transformation of local privacy in European culture

The author examines the changes in the local aspect of privacy in European culture. The research is based on the concept of privacy studies, which is actively developing in Western humanities examining the question of how the boundaries between private and public space affect the relationship between a person and society in various socio-cultural contexts. Privacy studies act as an integrative discipline combining research in the field of philosophical and cultural anthropology, sociology of culture, social and cultural history and other human sciences. In this article, the author makes an attempt to trace how changes occur in society consciousness what have expands the boundaries of local privacy, and how they are related to such philosophical categories as freedom, individualism, human dignity, which have been developed in Modern European society. It is argued that there is a reciprocal relationship between the need for a private space and respect for human individuality. In the pre-industrial era the human did not exist as an independent individual, but was included in the family community. The boundaries between public and private life were unclear. The house performed many functions: it provided its residents with physical and social protection, shelter and food, education and work. There was no differentiation of premises by functional purpose, there was no division into the sphere of labor and the sphere of leisure, a rigid separation of male and female activities. In the era of Modernity, changes associated with industrialization and urbanization begin to occur in society. Individualism is developing, which has become the socio-cultural foundation of privacy. The house loses some of its former functions and turns into a private space of a small family based on love and care. There is a differentiation of living spaces, the need for privacy and comfort is growing. Now a woman does not participate in productive work, dealing exclusivelywith the home and raising children, which is understood as her natural destiny. If in the 19th century private space existed only among the affluent strata, then in the 20th century, along with the growth of well-being, large segments of the population can afford separate housing. In the 21st century, with the advent of the era of globalization, people often change their homes in search of work. The development of Internet technologies blurs the boundaries of local privacy.