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Eberhard Karls Universität TübingenPhilosophische Fakultät

Institut für Medienwissenschaft

Epistemic Functions of Pictures Some Conceptual Preliminaries

Conference „Visual Learning: Communication – Cognition – Curriculum“,

Budapest, Decemper 7-8, 2012

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Background

• Philosophy and Image Science• Conceptual clarification• Specific functions of pictures

• Core Topics• Relation of pictures and knowledge• Rhetoric of picture use

Introduction

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• Introduction• Epistemic Functions of Pictures

• Pictures as empirical basis • Pictures in contexts of justification• Pictures in contexts of discovery

• Visualization and Genesis of Knowledge• The basic problem: pictures and knowledge• Picture, truth and rhetoric

• Conclusion

Introduction

Content

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Sequential photography (Muybridge)

Epistemic Functions

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Sequential photography (Muybridge)

Epistemic Functions

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Pictures as empirical basis• In empirical research, causally created pictures

are particularly important.

• They serve to augment perception in order to verify the existence of objects or events.

• When pictures are used indexically as a measuring instrument, precise calibration must be ensured (i.e. authorization/authentification).

Epistemic Functions

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• Introduction• Epistemic Functions of Pictures

• Pictures as empirical basis • Pictures in contexts of justification• Pictures in contexts of discovery

• Visualization and Genesis of Knowledge• The basic problem: pictures and knowledge• Picture, truth and rhetoric

• Conclusion

Introduction

Content

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Pictures in contexts of justification

• Pictures can depict complex issues schematically.

• Here, their epistemic contribution arises from the illustration of an argumentation.

• Pictures can function also as visual arguments.

• In contexts of justification, visual arguments require a precise (usually verbal) explanation.

Epistemic Functions

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Mathematic example

Epistemic Functions

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• Introduction• Epistemic Functions of Pictures

• Pictures as empirical basis • Pictures in contexts of justification• Pictures in contexts of discovery

• Visualization and Genesis of Knowledge• The basic problem: pictures and knowledge• Picture, truth and rhetoric

• Conclusion

Introduction

Content

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Scientific visualizations (Kekulé)

Epistemic Functions

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Scientific visualizations

Epistemic Functions

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Pictures in contexts of discovery

• In epistemic contexts of discovery, pictures often fulfill the function of analogies (as do metaphors).

• Pictures allow for the transfer of complex structures from a field theoretically well-founded to a field yet unexplored.

• As analogy models, they also influence our abstract conceptual views.

Epistemic Functions

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Content

• Introduction• Epistemic Functions of Pictures

• Pictures as empirical basis• Pictures in contexts of justification• Pictures in contexts of discovery

• Visualization and Genesis of Knowledge• The basic problem: Pictures and knowledge• Picture, truth and rhetoric

• Conclusion

Rhetoric

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The basic problem: Pictures and knowledge 1

• Knowledge is true and justified opinion. • Truth is a property of statements / propositions.• True opinions (knowing that) presuppose concepts. • Justification is a communicative activity.

Rhetoric

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The basic problem: Pictures and Knowledge 2

• In contrast, the essential function of pictures is illustration respectively visual characterization.• In terms of communication theory, this function is

comparable to predication. • Thus, reference is principally problematic. • Problem of selection

Rhetoric

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Content

• Introduction• Epistemic Functions of Pictures

• Pictures as empirical basis• Pictures in contexts of justification• Pictures in contexts of discovery

• Visualization and Genesis of Knowledge• The basic problem: Pictures and knowledge• Picture, truth and rhetoric

• Conclusion

Rhetoric

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Pictures and idealization

• An important subfunction regarding the epistemic use of images is idealization. • Analogy models are idealizing representations.• Idealization corresponds to an emphasis of particular

aspects / views. • Idealization is a rhetorical figure that possesses a

certain closeness to the conceptual.

Rhetoric

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Idealization in picturesErnst Haeckel

Rhetoric

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Conclusion

• Pictures can assume epistemic functions in different ways.

• However, the quality of an epistemic function always depends on the respective contextual (often linguistic) embedding, as well.

• Accordingly, pictures can direct knowledge, but through ‚skillful‘ recontextualization, they can also ideologically distort it .

Conclusion

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Thank you for your attention!