Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Journal | Volume | Article

174559

Comprehending screens

a meditation in medias res

Vivian Sobchack

pp. 87-101

Abstract

This essay argues that the digitization and proliferation of contemporary screens has moved us from a “screen-scape” to an encompassing “screen-sphere” – a new topologically-bounded and systemically-organized domain that has not only radically changed our lifeworld but also our ontological and epistemological comportment in it. With reference to recent cartoons and other popular discourses as well as to Humberto Maturana and Francesco Varela’s description of, and distinction between, “autonomous” and “autopoietic systems,” the essay speculates on the organizational structure of this new “screen-sphere” and, more significant, our positioning in relation to it.

Publication details

Published in:

(2014) Schermi/Screens. Rivista di estetica 55.

Pages: 87-101

DOI: 10.4000/estetica.959

Full citation:

Sobchack Vivian (2014) „Comprehending screens: a meditation in medias res“. Rivista di estetica 55, 87–101.