What happens if you put a philosopher in a group of artists and ask them to discuss mental spaces?

Her head explodes.

I should be in The Hague at this moment. Joining a group discussion on the nature of mental spaces. This discussion has been going on for a couple of weeks now. Sadly though the question whether there even is something like a mental space did not seem to occur to anyone.
The assignment is funny: you have to make a simulation of a mental space in which people can navigate.
I expect my fellow students will all come up with magnificent installations, visual effects and illusions. That's what the teachers have been aiming at for weeks now.
I think this approach is rather silly, if there is something like a mental space, it is not perceivable in a conventional way, through our five senses. Noone quite understood my point, or saw the relevance of it. Luckily last week another student gave an example that seemed to explain it a bit.
In the village he grew up they didn't have any of the modern media, but once in a while a story teller would visit and they would all sit and listen and loose themselves in their imagination. He claimed this was the way to view mental space, with our inner eye. The teachers were in awe, they said it had not occurred to them that maybe mental spaces can not be perceived in a conventional way, through the five senses.

Today I didn't go to class. I'll try and come up with something nice for the assignment, I'll work on it at home. I'm a bit sick of the uninformed, vague discussions. Let them have their way, I'll have mine.

posted by Marian @ 11:12 AM 1 comments

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