Labyrinths
In a space from Socrates in Labyrinth labled "radical uses,"
Kolb asks the central--to my
reading--question:
Could this also be true of philosophy? Is a nonlinear philosophical work
possible? Or is philosophy so committed to the line that hypertext can be
useful as an expository device or an informational tool, but can never offer
philosophy a brave world of new textual strategies?
Kolb answers, not by ducking the question, but by committing to its
assertions. In a space titled "phil. & line" he writes,
"I want to make the strongest case I can that philosophy cannot lose its
line, for I almost believe that this is so." And this is what I like
best about Kolb's work. He engages arguments, and readers, directly. No
easy trick in hypertext, with its many options. And this hypertext is
labyrinthine, 307 spaces with 741 links. But the essential link, the
one that holds it together for me, my string from Ariadne, is Kolb's
voice. I trust where I am in the hypertext, even though I'm bewildered
at times (I use present tense because I'm still reading this). Kolb's a
good writer, a disciplined
writer.
Back
to Start of Review
Address your comments to Nick Carbone at nickc@marlboro.edu