An essay on time and the phenomenology of imprisonment

Abstract

Social philosophy and sociological theory have determined time to be central to human reality. In particular, phenomenolo‐gists have argued that space and time is essential to human being. Thus, alterations in the nature of experienced time are significant areas for sociological investigation. One such case is present in the experience of imprisonment. The structure of time in prison is very different from that of everyday life. Prison time is, most importantly, futureless. Prisoners have developed several ways of adjusting to, and even resisting, the unique nature of prison time. These include, most consequentially the use of reverie. None, however, completely avoids the dehumanizing affects of the prison life‐world.