Davis Ch 1-2

Maddie Baum
Davis Ch. 1-2

Chapter 1

Artifact: Latour
Theme / Idea: "The Great Divide"

Latour makes very interesting thoughts in the first chapter; stating that our society is more connected now than we ever have been. Davis agrees with many of his theories, that the more that we revolutionize our technology to improve our lives, the future away we are put between the no man's land between nature and culture. He explains how the more we improve our technology, the morrow see that everything is connected. Why Latour's ideas are important to Davis is because it explains why we have gotten to where we are today with our modern technology. The link that I have selected below talks about more of Latour's philosophies to better understand his influence over Davis' writing. His philosophies are inspiring and this website helps emphasize the construction behind much of his writings.

https://antimatter.ie/2011/02/15/the-philosophy-of-bruno-latour-part-i/



Chapter 2

Artifact: Electricity
Theme / Idea: What is electricity and why is it important to us?

Something that I found to be very interesting with electricity in this chapter was the three different aspects of the alchemical imagination that Davis discussed and how they are all connected. The body electric, the spiritualization and the millenarian drive to connect earth and electricity to improve our lives. The body electric I found to be the most grasping topic, especially when Davis discussed how the body possess an independent life force; the article that I found in the New Yorker, was an example of how the living body is inherently electrical with how it naturally functions. The article talks about an integrated silicon circuit with the mechanical properties of skin. What makes this so interesting is how thse scientists faced their problem (the physical body) and figured out how to connect modern electronics and connect us physically with them.


https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/11/25/the-body-electric


Connecting quotes:

"Labour's Great Divide is full of secret passageways and cosmological cracks; scientists too are shadowed by looming dreams and stake their claims alongside pregnant intuitions and metaphysical imaginings" (41).