The Map and the Territory

"“I didn’t even know that was a question I could ask.” That remark from a student in an introductory philosophy course points to the primary body of knowledge philosophy produces: a detailed record of what we do not know. When we come to view a philosophical question as well-formed and worthwhile, i...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Munro, Michael
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: punctum books 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:OCN: 1267416153
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1869517118096015360
author Munro, Michael
author_browse Munro, Michael
author_facet Munro, Michael
author_sort Munro, Michael
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description "“I didn’t even know that was a question I could ask.” That remark from a student in an introductory philosophy course points to the primary body of knowledge philosophy produces: a detailed record of what we do not know. When we come to view a philosophical question as well-formed and worthwhile, it is a way of providing as specific a description as we can of something we do not know. The creation or discovery of such questions is like noting a landmark in a territory we’re exploring. When we identify reasonable, if conflicting, answers to this question, we are noting routes to and away from that landmark. And since proposed answers to philosophical questions often contain implied answers to other philosophical questions, those routes connect different landmarks. The result is a kind of map: a map of the unknown. Yet when it comes to the unknown, and all the more so to its cartography, might it not make sense to take our orientation from Borges: What’s in question here, with respect to philosophical questions, is an incipient, unlocalizable threshold—a terrain neither subjective, nor entirely objective, one neither of representation, nor finally of simple immediacy—there where the map perceptibly fails to diverge from the territory. Amid Inclemencies of weather and fringed, as per Borges, with ruin and singular figures—with Animals and Beggars—what’s enclosed is an attempt to chart the contours of this curious immanence."
format Online
id doab-20.500.12854ir-71622
institution Directory of Open Access Books
language eng
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher punctum books
publisherStr punctum books
record_format ojs
spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-716222025-08-13T14:10:51Z The Map and the Territory Munro, Michael Jorge Luis Borges;mapping;philosophy;territory thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800 "“I didn’t even know that was a question I could ask.” That remark from a student in an introductory philosophy course points to the primary body of knowledge philosophy produces: a detailed record of what we do not know. When we come to view a philosophical question as well-formed and worthwhile, it is a way of providing as specific a description as we can of something we do not know. The creation or discovery of such questions is like noting a landmark in a territory we’re exploring. When we identify reasonable, if conflicting, answers to this question, we are noting routes to and away from that landmark. And since proposed answers to philosophical questions often contain implied answers to other philosophical questions, those routes connect different landmarks. The result is a kind of map: a map of the unknown. Yet when it comes to the unknown, and all the more so to its cartography, might it not make sense to take our orientation from Borges: What’s in question here, with respect to philosophical questions, is an incipient, unlocalizable threshold—a terrain neither subjective, nor entirely objective, one neither of representation, nor finally of simple immediacy—there where the map perceptibly fails to diverge from the territory. Amid Inclemencies of weather and fringed, as per Borges, with ruin and singular figures—with Animals and Beggars—what’s enclosed is an attempt to chart the contours of this curious immanence." 2021-08-13T04:03:55Z 2021-08-13T04:03:55Z 2021-08-12T08:23:57Z 2021 book OCN: 1267416153 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/50338 9781953035783 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/71622 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50338/1/0319.1.00.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50338/1/0319.1.00.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50338/1/0319.1.00.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/50338/1/0319.1.00.pdf punctum books 10.53288/0319.1.00 10.53288/0319.1.00 12970da4-0116-4486-b8be-fc9756703ab1 9781953035783 ScholarLed 72 Brooklyn, NY open access
spellingShingle Jorge Luis Borges;mapping;philosophy;territory
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
Munro, Michael
The Map and the Territory
title The Map and the Territory
title_full The Map and the Territory
title_fullStr The Map and the Territory
title_full_unstemmed The Map and the Territory
title_short The Map and the Territory
title_sort map and the territory
topic Jorge Luis Borges;mapping;philosophy;territory
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
topic_facet Jorge Luis Borges;mapping;philosophy;territory
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy::QDH Philosophical traditions and schools of thought::QDHR Western philosophy from c 1800
url OCN: 1267416153
work_keys_str_mv AT munromichael themapandtheterritory
AT munromichael mapandtheterritory