The underlying claim of the investigation is that images don’t act as just mnemonic or decorating devices for the text but are instead an integral part of the philosophical knowledge disseminated...Show moreThe underlying claim of the investigation is that images don’t act as just mnemonic or decorating devices for the text but are instead an integral part of the philosophical knowledge disseminated through the text. By denying the auxiliary or even decorative role of images and viewing them as an integral part of a philosophical system, the thesis challenges the common-sensical view that image doesn’t have a place within the philosophical text which is seen as closer and more connected to thinking. As it can be noticed, the investigation relies on a historical account, an analysis of seventeenth-century accounts on the conception and role of images in thinking, followed by a contemporary phenomenological and embodied analysis, informed by neuroscientific finds, to give an answer to the main research question. Namely, what is the role that printed images have within an early modern philosophical publication for thinking and understanding?Show less
The research focuses on the frontispieces from René Descartes' Opera philosophica, printed in 1664 in Amsterdam by Janssonius & Weyerstraten, addressing the role that images play in the...Show moreThe research focuses on the frontispieces from René Descartes' Opera philosophica, printed in 1664 in Amsterdam by Janssonius & Weyerstraten, addressing the role that images play in the understanding of a philosophical text. The first part offers a visual analysis and identification of the two prints, attributing them to artist Cornelis Hellemans. A brief account of the circulation and reprinting of these engravings is also given. The second part looks at the two prints from an embodied cognition perspective, investigating a deeper layer of visual understanding through bodily metaphors. The gestures and countenance of the figures are analyzed in depth through the theories of Lakoff & Johnson. Lastly, the third part investigates the role that images play in reading comprehension through contemporary accounts and studies, especially those pioneered by Glenberg. The possibilities and limits of the embodied cognition framework for art historical research are also taken into consideration here.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
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This research maps the problems experienced by the prelingual Deaf in museums. Most Deaf people face linguistic, educational, and social barriers in museums. Nowadays, more and more museums make an...Show moreThis research maps the problems experienced by the prelingual Deaf in museums. Most Deaf people face linguistic, educational, and social barriers in museums. Nowadays, more and more museums make an effort to create access to their collection of artworks through programmes designed especially for Deaf people, like guided tours in sign language by Deaf museum educators or on tablets. An inclusive museum, however, is not labelling people as ‘Deaf’ or ‘hearing’, but is accessible to everyone without the need to design special programmes for particular groups. This interdisciplinary research combines Museum Studies, philosophy, Disability Studies, and cognitive neurosciences, to raise awareness for the inaccessibility of museums to the prelingual Deaf, and develops a theory of a multisensory presentation of collections of artworks that is accessible and beneficial not only to the Deaf, but also to other visitors. From the viewpoint of the museum visitor as embodied being, this research examines the possibility to make aesthetic judgments based on touch, taste, and smell.Show less
