Cosmology of Knowledge; or, What Makes Knowledge Intelligible?
In 1999, the American Literature Society of the University of Tsukuba (ALSUT) introduced the notion of “Epistemological Framework” into literary studies. Our method is to situate literary/cultural texts in their epistemological contexts, which they share with many other disciplines such as science, philosophy, and fine arts. In this sense, “literature” is regarded not as the opposite of “science” but as a form of knowledge sharing with science a similar framework.
Our new project, “Cosmology of Knowledge,” invites participants to discuss particular text(s) in much wider epistemological contexts than our former project did. Our approach is twofold: (1) cosmology as shaped by knowledge (how our understanding of the world/universe is informed by knowledge); (2) cosmological map of knowledge (how the interplay between various fields of knowledge produces knowledge itself).
Our perspective raises important questions: What is knowledge? What makes knowledge intelligible? How is knowledge produced, communicated and processed? If a world view is shaped (but not necessarily defined) by acknowledging reality, knowledge is certainly framed by the way we see the world. The history of knowledge shows that, in the old days, astrology and alchemy provided a framework. Nowadays, computers and the Internet help shape the framework of knowledge. Literary texts are no exception as they deal with human beings in the world/universe.
The idea of intelligibility does not limit itself to scientific disciplines. In the field of history, the relation between cause and effect is tacit and understood as evidence of its truthfulness—a hallmark of intelligibility. The idea, then, is one instance whereby we can draw a map of knowledge (where to situate “literature” and “science”) that reveals how the world is pictured through each field of knowledge. Ultimately, the idea is to chart a cosmology of knowledge in which the interaction between literature and science is redefined.