Crack and Culture: On Representations of Movement in Anthropology and Philosophy (SpringerBriefs in Philosophy)

By: Andrzej Zaporowski

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Synopsis: This book analyzes the representations of movement that reflect time. The author scrutinizes movement critically assuming that (1) movement is composed of change, (2) a change may be a crack, (3) the crack demonstrates a disturbance in the experienced movement, and (4) it is culture that is a remedy to the crisis caused by this disturbance. It is shown that artistic sensitivity allows for the detection of various cracks, and it is, among other examples, religious mythology and scientific narratives where one finds a multiplicity of representations to manage the consequences of this detection. Zaporowski sees these tools as purposefully constructed to respond to the human experience of discontinuity in the world and proposes to frame time cyclically while – critically – paying attention to the cracks as significant indicators that force one to amend one’s conduct in an ordered fashion. He appeals to the notion of culture, which allows one to manage the cracked nature of movement. Culture conditions one’s purposeful and ordered actions, and is subject to possible reconfigurations through a series of interactions. It allows for foreseeable conduct while at the same time being aware of possible and irreversible changes. This volume appeals to researchers, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in philosophy and anthropology.