A New Paradigm
The concluding chapter considers the nexus between mobilities and possibility studies as potentially leading to a new paradigm within social science. This paradigm considers ‘possible mobilities’ (i.e. new forms of movement of people, things and ideas) an
- PDF / 165,814 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 419.528 x 595.276 pts Page_size
- 42 Downloads / 231 Views
A New Paradigm
Abstract The concluding chapter considers the nexus between mobilities and possibility studies as potentially leading to a new paradigm within social science. This paradigm considers ‘possible mobilities’ (i.e. new forms of movement of people, things and ideas) and ‘mobile possibilities’ (i.e. the contribution of movement to all our engagements with the possible) as two sides of the same coin. Ongoing research in this direction is discussed, as well as future perspectives. Keywords New mobilities · Possibility studies · Possible mobilities · Mobile possibilities · Scientific paradigm
The premise of this book has been that there is an intrinsic connection between mobilities, in all their forms, and human possibility or the way in which we become aware of and explore what is possible in our existence and in society. This doesn’t mean to imply that more mobility, for example, travelling more often or even migrating, will necessarily lead to more possibility. The relation is not linearly causal and, indeed, we can think of many cases in which movement restricts rather than expands what we can do or think in a given situation. But the ontological fact still holds that there would be no possibilities to explore in the absence of any kind of mobility. Both these scenarios—perfect immobility and absolute © The Author(s) 2020 V. P. Gl˘aveanu, Mobilities and Human Possibility, Palgrave Studies in Creativity and Culture, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52082-3_7
97
98
˘ V. P. GLAVEANU
impossibility—belong to the realm of thought experiments than actual states given that, to be alive (and to be alive as a human being) is prefaced on movement and open, at all times, to the future. And yet, it is a useful thought experiment because it shows us what occupying a unitary, unmovable position in the world would result in. According to my theory of the possible,1 it would mean developing a single way of relating to self and world, in other words, a single perspective. And it is this singularity that is the very antithesis of possibility which fundamentally thrives on difference, multiplicity and polyphony.2 In this book, the relation between mobility and possibility has often been discussed in terms of position and perspectives and especially repositioning, position exchange and dialogues between perspectives. This is because movement, at its most basic, involves the transition between multiple positions, a transition that can be described in many ways, depending on the nature of these positions; for instance, we could talk about a life-course, about the path taken through a supermarket, about the trajectory of an idea, or the development of society. Each one of these expresses different ‘levels’ of mobility, from societal and historical to personal and psychological. People and objects moving between physical positions describe acts of migration and transportation. Ideas moving from one mind to the other can be read in terms of diffusion or transmission. Minds moving from one idea to the next enact daydreaming
Data Loading...
