Second order space

From Geography

Wolfgang Zierhofer made a distinction in space. He seperated space in first-order space and second- order space. According to Zierhofer: “The benefit of this distinction between first and second order spaces is to combine a notion of space as fundamental epistemic category, on the one hand, with the infinite empirical richness of particular object-spaces and locational schemes, on the other hand” (2005, p. 32).

To make a clear explenation about what second-order space is, there has to be clarified wat first-order space contains. The first order- space is the most abstract and general form of space. Here has to be made a distinction in space. By these distinctions, codes are created, for example we need a set of names in order to classify things. With this classification we are able to tell stories. For further explenation of this concept, see the wiki about this subject (Zierhofer, 2002).

When the codes are combined with distinctions with a specific meaning, there is a switch from first-order space to second-order space. This can be one or several second-order spaces. Times represent a class of second-order space. This is because times, regarded as temporal codes, are distinctions with a specific meaning (Zierhofer, 2002).

References:

Zierhofer, W. (2005). State, power and space. Social Geography,1,29-36.

Zierhofer, W. (2002). Speech acts and space(s): Language pragmatics and the discursive constitution of the social. Environment and Planning,34,1355-1372.

Published by Lotte Brouwer & Inge Schoenmakers