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Space Made Commonplace
Michael Williams
Occasionally, someone comes along with
the power to effect change; someone who throws down the intellectual gauntlet
and challenges the thoughts that so many hold dear to their hearts. Often
this type of person meets with heavy opposition, persecuted for his or
her individuality, for their audacity to subscribe to things out of the
ordinary. However, this willingness and ability to intrepidly step outside
the typical sphere of her discipline is what makes Villanova's new head
of the philosophy department, Dr. Helen Lang, extraordinary.
Challenging physics and philosophy alike,
Jan. 23 marked the date of Dr. Lang's opening presentation for this year's
Robert M. Birmingham Colloquium Series, "Place, Space, and Where Things
Are in Ancient Greek Philosophy." Here, despite the casual business lunch
setting, Lang immediately dove into the meat of an interesting philosophical
and scientific question: "what is space?"
To many, this question has a myriad of
implications, spanning disciplines as ostensibly disconnected as mathematics
and epistemology. The development of a concept of space may seem like
a simple task to the unquestioning mind, however, it is just this idea
of simplicity and cerebral complacency that Lang wishes to confront. "I
want people to understand that the idealized space that we take for granted
in fact is the outcome of a long intellectual process, so there is nothing
obvious or given about it," said Lang.
Acting as a tour guide through a jungle
of philosophical works, Lang instilled the audience with a deeper understanding
not only of space in a scientific and philosophical context. She also
challenged the audience to delve more deeply into many of the ideas they
blindly hold as true and attack the often narrow-minded concepts that
people participate in on daily basis. "[Modern] values which appear obvious
could be understood more deeply by understanding their intellectual origins."
She suggested that those in attendance spread this message to the masses,
encouraging earnest investigation as we seek to move forward in this world
society filled with prejudice and preconceived notions of right and wrong. |
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