"It is hard to overstate the significance of Kolb's hypertext....
"As an authentic piece of creative philosophical thought
and as a remarkably successful use of hypertext technology,
this piece should be required reading for hypertext enthusiasts
and philosophers alike." -- Charles Ess, Drury University
"The most exciting piece of non-fiction hypertext that IÁve read....David Kolb shows here his mastery of the philosopherÁs main task: asking questions. " -- Susana Pajares Tosca, Hipertulia
Socrates in the Labyrinth is a wide-ranging exploration of the relationships between hypertext, thought, and argument.
Does hypertext present alternatives to the logical structures of if-then, claim and support? Is hypertext a mere expository tool, that cannot alter the essence of discussion and proof? Or is hypertext essentially unsuited to rigorous argument?
Kolb's discussion is a nuanced, creative approach to these and other questions. Kolb points up the history of nonlinearity in philosophical work, from the Socratic dialogues through Hegel, and the variety of forms that philosophical discussion can take. Kolb's discussion -- and the structures of Socrates itself -- show that hypertext is not only a "super-encyclopedia" that leaves the essence of argument unchanged. But his keen understanding of both hypertext and postmodernism also shows that the relation between hypertext and "the end of the text" is more complex than is sometimes claimed. Socrates in the Labyrinth embodies several hypertext structures showing possibilities for writing and thought in the new medium.
Socrates in the Labyrinth is one of the first works of hypertext non-fiction to examine and exploit the techniques of hypertext rhetoric discovered in the development of serious hypertext fiction.
Socrates in the Labyrinth was created using Storyspace.
Socrates in the Labyrinth: Hypertext, Argument, Philosophy
by David Kolb
ISBN 1-884511-17-1
Editions for Macintosh or Windows. $49.95
About the author:
David Kolb
Don't miss:
Fragments of the Dionysian Body by Eric Steinhart
Writing At The Edge by George P. Landow.
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