Nomos, Physis and Hierarchy

Though humans are not alone in creating and following a hierarchy, conferring privilege to certain members at the expense of others, we are the beings able to express and inscribe such systems graphically, making it possible to perpetuate them over time.

Aristotle's model of the geocentric ("earth-centered") universe and his categorization of all the earth's objects provided a hierarchical vision of the universe.



This model was adopted in the middle ages and used by Christians to explain man's relationship with God, laying out the pecking order of all entities, from rocks, to humans, to celestial beings.

Called "The Great Chain of Being" (scala naturae), it persisted through the Renaissance into the Age of Enlightenment.  The astronomical perspective of the Earth as the center of the universe finally gave way to the heliocentric universe (sun-centered) when scientists, following the work of those like Copernicus, found Aristotle's views no long tenable in light of more current research. This shift from geo-to heliocentricity has been described by some, like Thomas Kuhn, as a mighty philosophical change.  Despite the realization that the cosmos was not laid out hierarchically, it has been well accepted that there are indeed earthly ones.  Herein lies one of the issues that we are studying in this course:  diversity and difference.

From CNN: How Technology Is Impacting Egypt

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/01/30/nr.levs.tech.protests.cnn?hpt=T2

I thought this video would be interesting our class since we are talking about technology's impact on culture.

--Dene

Uploaded Slides from Tuesday's Discussion

Here is the link to download yesterday's slides:

http://www.nouspace.net/dene/475/lectures/week2_lecture.ppt

Best,

Dene Grigar

Impacts: From Self to World

Students, in light of our discussion about cultural practices, I thought you may like to think about this concept about how we move from self to the world.  Ben brought up the idea of child brides as an example of a cultural practice common to people from one part of the world that challenges current beliefs about capabilities and duties of children in our country.  We are made aware of these differences because of the very fact that we function today––thanks to technologies of media and transportation––beyond the oikos (the home/family/tribe) in the larger realms of the polis (town/state/country) and cosmos (the world at large).  Modifying ideas and views makes it possible to function more readily without conflict.  While this means some customs (nomos) may not be accepted in these larger realms and so must be reevaluated for their sustainability, it does not necessarily mean the end of culture.

Thursday's Homework

You may wonder what Plato has to do with diversity, mush less <i>digital</i>.  And you may also wonder how his story of the cave written at about 380 BC connects with the violence aimed at Rodney King in 1991.  What I will be getting at in our talk is that idea that there is a philosophical framework in place, suggested in Plato's Republic that allows for bias against those different from us.  So, here is the "Hint of the Day":  Try to suss out from Plato's dialogue what may provide the grounding for today's problems with accepting others different from ourselves.

Welcome to DTC 475 Digital Diversity

Welcome to the class!  


The first meeting takes place on January 11 at 4:30 in VMMC 16.  You can access the class website to get a copy of the syllabus and find out how to order your course packet.  


Go to: http://web.me.com/dgrigar/DTC_475_Digital_Diversity/Welcome.html

You are welcome to contact me with questions.

--Dene Grigar