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A philosophy of transport: Michel Serres’ recursive epistemology in the Hermes pentalogy

A philosophy of transport: Michel Serres’ recursive epistemology in the Hermes pentalogy
A philosophy of transport: Michel Serres’ recursive epistemology in the Hermes pentalogy
Focusing upon the five books of his early Hermes series, this article argues that Michel Serres furnishes an accomplished, unconventional philosophical account of communication and mediation – a structuralist epistemology designed to comprehend the sciences in their complexity and plurality – that, even decades after its first publication, has significant value for media theory. Two key themes within this pentalogy are highlighted: firstly, its emphasis upon motifs of communication, transport, and circulation, attempting to grasp the scientific field in topological terms, as a kind of networked encyclopaedia; and secondly, its attempt to account for the intricate relationship between the formal and the empirical in all theorization.
continental philosophy, communication, epistemology, networks, mediation, pluralism, Michel Serres, Gaston Bachelard
201-218
Sutherland, Thomas
a9a8e23c-232e-47ca-9be6-abeac690bfb2
Sutherland, Thomas
a9a8e23c-232e-47ca-9be6-abeac690bfb2

Sutherland, Thomas (2021) A philosophy of transport: Michel Serres’ recursive epistemology in the Hermes pentalogy. Media Theory, 5 (1), 201-218.

Record type: Article

Abstract

Focusing upon the five books of his early Hermes series, this article argues that Michel Serres furnishes an accomplished, unconventional philosophical account of communication and mediation – a structuralist epistemology designed to comprehend the sciences in their complexity and plurality – that, even decades after its first publication, has significant value for media theory. Two key themes within this pentalogy are highlighted: firstly, its emphasis upon motifs of communication, transport, and circulation, attempting to grasp the scientific field in topological terms, as a kind of networked encyclopaedia; and secondly, its attempt to account for the intricate relationship between the formal and the empirical in all theorization.

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Accepted/In Press date: 26 April 2021
Published date: 25 September 2021
Keywords: continental philosophy, communication, epistemology, networks, mediation, pluralism, Michel Serres, Gaston Bachelard

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 495124
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/495124
PURE UUID: 65a774dc-dc2d-4668-bedb-9dd488363199
ORCID for Thomas Sutherland: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1538-7044

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Date deposited: 29 Oct 2024 17:48
Last modified: 30 Oct 2024 03:09

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Author: Thomas Sutherland ORCID iD

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