0. Linienwissen und Liniendenken. Einleitung in ein Forschungsfeld
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Sabine Mainberger
Abstract
The introduction, Thinking about lines: a new research field, asks how lines, i.e., something so seemingly simple, so common, and so widely used, can be analysed: it does not ask what a line is, but rather what lines are to us. Lines may be conceptualized as cultural techniques, but they can also call into question the (Western) dichotomy between culture and nature. They share many features with such media as writing or images, but they are also more than that: concrete practices linked to a certain knowledge and, in mathematics, they are specific concepts. Away from mathematics, the concept of the line is epistemically polyvalent, i.e., it cannot be clearly separated from metaphor. Our proposal is to study lines as elementary ways of world-understanding and world-making. To this end, our book presents texts that think about lines in five different fields: philosophy, mathematics, ethnology/anthropology, geography/cartography, the theory and the history of art. Each of the five chapters contains an essay on the significance of lines in the given field and presents pertinent texts accompanied by a short introduction and research references.
Abstract
The introduction, Thinking about lines: a new research field, asks how lines, i.e., something so seemingly simple, so common, and so widely used, can be analysed: it does not ask what a line is, but rather what lines are to us. Lines may be conceptualized as cultural techniques, but they can also call into question the (Western) dichotomy between culture and nature. They share many features with such media as writing or images, but they are also more than that: concrete practices linked to a certain knowledge and, in mathematics, they are specific concepts. Away from mathematics, the concept of the line is epistemically polyvalent, i.e., it cannot be clearly separated from metaphor. Our proposal is to study lines as elementary ways of world-understanding and world-making. To this end, our book presents texts that think about lines in five different fields: philosophy, mathematics, ethnology/anthropology, geography/cartography, the theory and the history of art. Each of the five chapters contains an essay on the significance of lines in the given field and presents pertinent texts accompanied by a short introduction and research references.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Vorwort V
- Inhaltsverzeichnis VII
- Abkürzungsverzeichnis XIII
- 0. Linienwissen und Liniendenken. Einleitung in ein Forschungsfeld 1
- 1. Philosophie 19
- 2. Mathematik 79
- 3. Ethnologie und Anthropologie 141
- 4. Geographie und Kartographie 202
- 5. Kunsttheorie und -geschichte 282
- Literaturverzeichnis 425
- Namenregister 467
- Sachregister 470
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Vorwort V
- Inhaltsverzeichnis VII
- Abkürzungsverzeichnis XIII
- 0. Linienwissen und Liniendenken. Einleitung in ein Forschungsfeld 1
- 1. Philosophie 19
- 2. Mathematik 79
- 3. Ethnologie und Anthropologie 141
- 4. Geographie und Kartographie 202
- 5. Kunsttheorie und -geschichte 282
- Literaturverzeichnis 425
- Namenregister 467
- Sachregister 470
