Introduction: Toward a psychology of everyday living

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book chapter. The concept takes into account how people collaboratively produce their life through daily activities, habits and social relations. The concept of the conduct of everyday life might then open a route to overcome the abstract individualism of psychology that encloses subjects in isolated psychological special functions and to contribute to a psychological epistemology grasping the richness, complexity and connectedness of psychological phenomena as well as the interrelations between human subjects and the world. The rhythms and routines relieve the needs to constantly observe, negotiate and justify what people do or do not do, and provide a basic foundation for our lives. The starting point of Ute Osterkamp's exploration of everyday living in is Adorno's famous dictum there is no right life in the wrong one, and she argues that recognizing this dilemma is the first step out of it