At the start of this class I considered myself an odd mix of mediocre scientist with an even worse mix of philosopher/sociologist/artist. Whenever my science classes brought up moments in history that shifted the understanding of science towards our current state I was amazed and fascinated more by the historical perspective than the science itself. Early in class we discussed the dichotomy of these two spheres of thought, science and humanities, and I thought why do these things need to be exclusive modes of thought; In retrospect I fear this may have been more from ignorance about how the subjects as institutions have polarized themselves over time rather than some tacit insight of a keen observer. Courtesy of Latour, my initial views seem to have gained a bit of agency - I feel even more strongly that this dichotomy is constructed, fabricated, and an untrue manifestation of reality; the two arenas are inseparable, and to do so results in nothing more than a loss for our understanding of the real world... of reality. I'm excited by the increased sense that I am more capable to see the world with greater clarity. All things are interconnected in the web we've used so often to illustrate their relationships. However, these representations where always two-dimensional; I prefer to think of things from a more submersive perspective. Imagine being within the web, seeing the filaments extending from one junction to the next - do direction, no up, down, left or right - just the web, mind bogglingly complex and nearly unfathomable. Touching the filaments causes reverberations throughout the web and close observation elucidates the nature of the relationships. There's no bias regarding whether science or non-science is the cause or effect, which is more important, just the relationships and their meaning. It's an ideal state in my mind - I unfortunately cannot see all the filaments and certainly cannot discern their significance but I feel better capable of being able to do so now having been in this class... I feel as though I (my mind or me?) have been transformed. It's an experience that isn't easily forgotten. I'm older than most students, I feel comfortable saying I have more life experiences than the average student in this class and this is sincerely an experience that will remain with me far longer than most.
Thanks to all of you for your insight in the things we discussed in class - it made for a very rich experience.
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I like your illustration of science and the humanities as a interconnected web of relationships of signification and meaning--pull at a string and it sends reverberations through the web in its entirety, not through a specific strand per se. The problem for me, is looking at this web with that understanding, and not through the lens of science or non-science. The two are difficult, conceptually, to combine. This difficulty, however, is created through the effects of discourse on our subjectivities. Latoure reminds us that this gap is artificial in nature, but it seems so natural to me. Thankfully this course has shed some light on the ways in which this division is in fact a creation. It seems paradoxical at times, but day by day, keeping my mind open, I am able to relish in those moments were this division exposes its artifice and allows me to see the interconnectedness between the two. Great post, greater questions, see you next semester.
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