The Truth of the Technological World: Essays on the Genealogy of Presence

FriedrichKittler(19432011)combinedthestudyofliterature,cinema,technology,andphilosophyinamannersufficientlynoveltoberecognizedasanewfieldofacademicendeavorinhisnativeGermany.\"Mediastudies,\"asKittlerconceivedit,meantreflectingonhowbooksoperateasfilms,poetryascomputerscience,andmusicasmilitaryequipment.Thisvolumecollectswritingsfromallstagesoftheauthor\'sprolificcareer.Exemplaryessaysillustratehowmattersofformandinscriptionmakeheterogeneoussourcematerial(e.g.,literaryclassicsandcomputerdesign)interchangeableontheleveloffunctionwithfar-reachingconsequencesforourunderstandingofthehumanitiesandthe\"hardsciences.\"Richincounterintuitivepropositions,slyhumor,andvasterudition,Kittler\'sworkbothchallengestheassumptionsofpositivisticculturalhistoryandexposestheover-abstractionandlanguagegamesofphilosopherssuchasHeideggerandDerrida.Thetwenty-threepiecesgatheredheredocumenttheintellectualitineraryofoneofthemostoriginalthinkersinrecenttimessometimesbaffling,oftencontroversial,andalwaysstimulating.,