Aleph

From Geography

The Aleph, according to Jorge Luis Borges (1949), is a point in space that contains all other points: anyone who views from this point in space can see everything in the universe from every angle simultaneously, without distortion, overlapping or confusion (Borges, 1949). It is a concept of Spatial infinity. The Aleph is always present, infinite and contains all points in space. It is capable of being seen from every angle, but is never entirely seen. Everything comes together in the Aleph: subjectivity - objectivity, abstract - concrete. There is no totality of knowledge that finitely encloses knowledge production in permanent structures. Permanent structures are considered to be impossible (Soja, 1996). The story of the Aleph is used to describe Thirdspace.

Edward Soja (1996) formulates his concept of Thirdspace by referring to the Aleph. In the theory of Thirdspace “everything comes together… subjectivity and objectivity, the abstract and the concrete, the real and the imagined, the knowable and the unimaginable, the repetitive and the differential, structure and agency, mind and body, consciousness and the unconscious, the disciplined and the transdisciplinary, everyday life and unending history” (Soja, 1996). In his book ‘Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places’ he talks about the Human Geography of Los Angeles in which he states that Los Angeles is “the only place on earth where all places are”, a limitless space of simultaneity and contradiction, impossible to describe in ordinary language (Soja, 1996). The story of Aleph also makes clear the incapacity of language and text to create a full meaning of human spatiality (Soja, 1996).

References

• Borges, J. L. (1949). The Aleph and Other Stories. Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada.
• Soja, E. (1996). Thirdspace: Journeys to Los Angeles and Other Real-and-Imagined Places. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. 1996.

Contributors

• Page created by Lars-Olof Haverkort --LarsHaverkort 17:54, 29 September 2012 (CEST)

• Page edited by Bert Hegger on October 9th 2012

• Links added by Isis Boot --IsisBoot 00:26, 25 October 2012 (CEST)