10.25394/PGS.8277599.v1
Robert M Spears
Robert M
Spears
Technology and Topology: Rethinking the Space of Existence
Purdue University Graduate School
2019
Technology
Space
Existence
Heidegger
Phenomenology
Ontology
Philosophy
History of Philosophy
2019-08-02 18:48:52
Thesis
https://hammer.purdue.edu/articles/thesis/Technology_and_Topology_Rethinking_the_Space_of_Existence/8277599
<p>For living things, being spatial means being in some place.
Beyond mere geometric containment, this being in place reveals a relational and
active spatiality that arises through one’s bodily interaction with an environment.
However, for human beings this engagement occurs primarily through the medium
of technology, broadly construed as the production and use of artifacts.
Working at the intersection of philosophy of technology and phenomenology, my
project accounts for this technologically mediated spatiality. In particular, I
develop extant arguments that technology is best understood as an extension and
externalization of our bodies and minds into the environment. I argue that this
technological extendedness generates a <i>topological</i>
spatiality that is a key feature of human existence. Put differently, I show
that we are more than bodies <i>in</i>
space; rather, we <i>are </i>spatial <i>via</i> our relation to technology.</p>