Lines of Thought

Branching Diagrams and the Medieval Mind

Inbunden, Engelska, 2021

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We think with objects—we conduct our lives surrounded by external devices that help us recall information, calculate, plan, design, make decisions, articulate ideas, and organize the chaos that fills our heads. Medieval scholars learned to think with their pages in a peculiar way: drawing hundreds of tree diagrams. Lines of Thought is the first book to investigate this prevalent but poorly studied notational habit, analyzing the practice from linguistic and cognitive perspectives and studying its application across theology, philosophy, law, and medicine.These diagrams not only allow a glimpse into the thinking practices of the past but also constitute a chapter in the history of how people learned to rely on external devices—from stone to parchment to slide rules to smartphones—for recording, storing, and processing information. Beautifully illustrated throughout with previously unstudied and unedited diagrams, Lines of Thought is a historical overview of an important cognitive habit, providing a new window into the world of medieval scholars and their patterns of thinking.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2021-04-16
Mått210 x 279 x 28 mm
Vikt993 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor272
FörlagThe University of Chicago Press
ISBN9780226743080

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Historia inom Historia och arkeologi

IntroductionPart I1 The Form: Chronological, Linguistic, and Cognitive Perspectives 1.1 Form: A Chronological Perspective1.2 Form: A Linguistic Perspective1.3 Form: A Cognitive Perspective2 The Habit: On What, Where, Who, When, and How Often 2.1 Diagramming as a Form of Marginal Annotation2.2 Parasitic, Embedded, and Tapestry Forms2.3 Beyond the Classroom: French and Hebrew2.4 ConclusionPart II3 Structures of Concepts: Distinctions 3.1 Natural Philosophy, Metaphysics, Ethics 3.2 Biblical Distinctions3.3 Canon and Civil Law 3.4 Medicine3.5 Conclusion4 Structures of Language 4.1 Verse and Rhyme4.2 Letter Writing (Ars Dictaminis)4.3 Grammar5 Structure of Texts 5.1 Orientation and Composition: Theological Questions5.2 Analysis: Argument5.3 Analysis: Biblical Narrative5.4 What HT Diagramming Tells Us about the Scholastic Perception of Texts: Authors as Architects, Texts as Wisely Made Constructions 5.5 Coda: Back to the Future—Parallels to the Divisio Textus in Twentieth-Century Narrative AnalysesAppendix: Latin and English Surface Text of the Book of Job Parsed and Numbered (Translation Follows the English Standard Version)EpilogueAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

“[Even-Ezra] parses the parsing of long-gone readers with depth and relish, emerging from the thicket with a judicious and companionable discussion of HTs and their ramifications (pun essential) for our understanding of how reading, thinking, pen work, and the book medium may be inextricably entwined . . . . From cover to close, the argument of the book is fused with its design. Should an engaged reader annotate their copy with words, lines, or schemata, they would actively extend the lively subject of this welcome work.”