The Cartesian i

The dualism idea is perpetuated in the i, the form that seperates the head from the body.

How ubiquitously the mind-body problem had seeped into our education system, where schools seperate education of the physical from education.

Why the i in iPhone or iPad? Am I to take a less important form from the device?

As the digital devices augment human existence, the body cannot be denied its primal role.

Even bold, i look insignificant.

6 thoughts on “The Cartesian i

  1. Hi Sarkunnan, I like your blog! I’ve used it for Thing Nine, putting a link to it in my blog. Just thinking through all the issues involved in using I, from a Deleuzian perspective of course! Thanks for using your blog to discuss interesting questions.

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      1. Yes I thought your blog would be interesting… I will have to keep updated, need to set up an alert. Just having difficulty replying as I most often use my phone. And I should be trying to write my proposal, I should get back to that now. See you around

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  2. Writing in the English language certainly privileges I; and my spell checkers always assume that I want capitalisation. But when I write in Te Reo Maori, there is often the occasion to use i and I have to fight the spell checker to make it believe that capitalisation is not required. Is this in some inter-cultural way reflecting the group focus of the Maori culture versus the I focus of the predominant English-speaking culture?

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    1. Certainly something to think about, Suzanne. My perspective of the ‘i’ is that it depicts the separation of the mind and the body which is a Cartesian concept. Your perspective of how ‘i’ in small caps shows less individualism is interesting. Then I think how much better is a group when one has to belittle oneself. That again is the mind speaking without the regard for what really is happening in the group, which is actually the body. Depending on the context, the belittlement is humility, non-expression, marginalisation or utilitarian…The I is as important as i.

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