Apriority of time and space perception as a split of reality

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Vasyl' Stus Donetsk national university

Apriority of time and space perception as a split of reality

Matsyshyna I.V.

Abstract

While studying the mechanisms of information perception and relying on a priori theory by Kant, questions related to visual communication are raised. If the subject, according to I. Kant, possesses a priori contemplation due to which he percepts time and space, then how he uses this mechanism during visual communication? When a transcendental subject uses the synthesis of judgments in visual texts, which is the experience ofperception of the real world time and space, whether the opposite effect is possible? How the experience ofperception of time and space in the real world influences the approximate practice of the subject's behavior in the virtual world? These questions allowed us to hypothesize the loss of boundaries between the real and the virtual dimensions on the example of the visual text's study.

In this study, we focused on the first stage of apriority - contemplation. The phenomena of space and time, represented through certain variables in the visual text, have become the main research objects. In the first phase of the study, we analyze these variables based on the concept of image analysis by G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen. In the second phase, we turn to M. Foucault's theory of heterotopia to define how badly the subject loses the boundary between the real and the virtual. Thus, among the methodological foundations of the study, we applied the theory of a priori by I. Kant, the heterotopia theory of M. Foucault, as well as the analysis of images by G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen.

When a subject finds himself between two realities, it is difficult to prove where objectivity and where subjectivity is, because the act of seeing is predictable. Apriority of contemplation used in the perception of objects in different spaces gives impressions and emotions. And it splits the subject even more, as the demarcation line between virtual and real spaces is lost. The predicted mechanical procedure of reading visual texts can be not only a technique to influence the behavior, but indicate the personal loss of the subject, which has already violated the boundaries between virtual and real worlds.

Keywords: apriority, visual communication, heterotopia, image, symbol, topos and chronos, photographic media text.

Анотація

Мацишина І.В. Апріорність сприйняття часу і простору як розділення реальності

В процесі дослідження механізмів сприйняття інформації при опорі на апріорну теорію І. Канта піднімаються питання, пов'язані з візуальною комунікацією. Зокрема досліджено наступні питання: Якщо суб'єкт, за І. Кантом, володіє апріорним спогляданням, завдяки якому він сприймає час і простір, то як він використовує цей механізм під час візуальної комунікації? Коли трансцендентний суб'єкт використовує синтез суджень у візуальних текстах, який є досвідом сприйняття часу та простору реального світу, чи можливий протилежний ефект? Як досвід сприйняття часу і простору в реальному світі апроксимує практику поведінки суб'єкта у віртуальному світі? Аналіз цих питань на прикладі дослідження візуального тексту дозволив висунути гіпотезу про втрату межі між реальним і віртуальним вимірами.

У цьому дослідженні ми зосередили увагу на першому етапі апріорності - спогляданні. Основними об'єктами дослідження стали феномени простору та часу, репрезентовані через певні змінні у візуальному тексті. На першому етапі дослідження ми аналізуємо ці змінні на основі концепції аналізу зображення Г. Кресса та Т. ван Левена. На другому етапі ми звертаємося до теорії гетеротопіїМ. Фуко, щоб визначити, наскільки сильно суб'єкт втрачає межу між реальним і віртуальним. Так, серед методологічних засад дослідження ми застосували теорію апріорності І. Канта, теорію гетеротопіїМ. Фуко, а також аналіз образів Г. Кресс і Т. ван Левен.

Коли суб'єкт опиняється між двома реальностями, важко довести, де об'єктивність, а де суб'єктивність, оскільки акт бачення передбачуваний. Пріоритет споглядання, який використовується при сприйнятті об'єктів у різних просторах, дає враження та емоції. І це ще більше розколює тему, оскільки втрачається демаркаційна лінія між віртуальним і реальним просторами. Прогнозована механічна процедура читання візуальних текстів може бути не тільки прийомом впливу на поведінку, а й свідчити про особисту втрату суб'єкта, який уже порушив межі між віртуальним і реальним світами.

Ключові слова: апріорність, візуальна комунікація, гетеротопія, образ, символ, топос і хронос, фотографічний медіатекст.

Main part

I. Kant analyzes the ratio between subjectivity and objectivity on the example of the attitude towards the «object». The main stress here is made on the «subject». The philosopher introduces the concept of «phenomenon», which affects the knowledge regarding the object; and proves that the subject endows the object with properties received exactly as a result of contemplation of this object's phenomenon. That is, we are dealing only with things we imagine but not with things that actually exist. Hence, the object, as a thing, cannot be fully cognized as for the subject it remains unknown. His renowned theory of the «thing - in-itself» is associated with representation, which determines interrelationships in society. To accept this fact is to understand the imperfection of a subject, whose physiological mechanism is incapable of cognizing the universe. Insofar as the subject is constantly dealing with phenomena, the «thing» will remain beyond the subject's knowledge. That is why the researchers should focus mainly on the subject's mechanisms of perception due to which the thing (or object) obtains its meaning. Exactly these meanings of the object's phenomenon affect the knowledge, development, and level of morality in society.

According to I. Kant, there is knowledge existing regardless of experience. This is what he called apriority. The word comes from the Latin phrase «apriori», which can be translated as «from the earlier». A priori does not rely on experience, it is a human feature and affects the process of knowledge acquisition. As the evolution of past experience, a priori has its stages that affect the perception of personal and social things and phenomena. At the first stage, there is only contemplation, which allows the subject to percept space and time. At the second stage, there is mind, which develops analytical abilities of the subject. At the third stage, the mind separates from contemplation and independently creates knowledge at the level of reason. If we consider three aforesaid stages of cognition with regard to the perception of objects and phenomena, then the subject is dealing with images, concepts, and comprehension but not with their very essence.

Among the three stages of knowledge acquisition related to the a priori characteristics of the subject, first of all, we'll focus on the first stage - contemplation. Due to this stage, the subject can sense space and time regardless of knowledge. Sensitivity to the topos allows distinguishing one subject from another, or from the things around him. This a priori property provides an opportunity to contemplate those objects in respect of which the subject contraposes themselves, which is impossible without a sense of space. Along with contemplating objects in the space where they change, the subject is able to feel the chronos. Objects' change in space provides a sense of time: close, far, near, which can establish some knowledge regarding the concepts of past, future, and present. Thus, contemplation, in which sensuality as an a priori property of the subject activates the knowledge of space and time, besides, depends on the objects as they affect the subject's reflection. Hence, not only the subject but the object as well has an impact on the very process of contemplation that generates knowledge. And for the subject, this knowledge is more real than the object itself because the subject relies on its own mechanism of knowledge processing. The physiological algorithm involved in communication provides a limited result. Therefore, the knowledge obtained by the subject cannot be true. A part of knowledge unable to be processed by the subject remains, since, according to I. Kant, the potential of the subject is quite narrow. Austrian zoologist Konrad Lorenz compares apriority with a camera that exists independently of photographs. «The property «to be composed of pixels» does not apply to the information reflected in the thing-in-itself, it comes from the features of the camera, stipulated by technically inevitable limitations,» - K. Lorenz writes (Lorenz, 2020).

Photography as a visual text

The analysis of visual texts, where space and time have their dimensions and actualize apriority of the subject, is present in the works of A. Burger (Burger, 2005), H. Velflin (Velflin, 2018), G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006), P. Shtompka (Shtompka, 2010) and others. With the help of their approaches, we could notice that visual communication and the information it produces are an array of data representing society. This data can open up new dimensions of the subject that can be related to its apriority. For example, photography, as a media, may not only be an intermediary between the author and the onlooker, between the photographer and society but can provide objective knowledge about the mediation itself. Without forgetting the apriority, which indicates the limited property of the subject to cognize, photography is the outer shell of the reality that can be understood and perceived by the subject. Moreover, comprehension of the photo will provide new information each time, however, it will remain incomprehensible until the end. Same as Kantian «thing-in-itself'.

The work «Reading images: the grammar of visual design» by G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen allows the reader to see temporal and chronological dimensions that are translated from the real world to the virtual through visual means. When the a priori sensibility of the subject's time and space continues to dominate in the virtual world, a certain logic of reality perception is being formed. Due to certain markers, built on the contrasts between objects in the middle of the frame, that can be included in the visual text, the viewer can feel the pressure of meaning hidden by the author of the photograph. Through visual images, a photographic text allows not only to feel the past and future but to compare them with the present, to bring the subject back to reality. During the analysis of «Reading images: the grammar of visual design» by G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen, we have identified three markers that, in our opinion, will help to establish the sensuality of space and time in the virtual dimension through visual text.

Narrative. The vector that symbolizes the action directed from one character in the frame to another helps to visualize the story in the visual text. The fact that the viewer of the photo can become the other character is felt through the story around which the plot is built. The vector allows not only to feel the action but to understand the power of the characters in the frame. Through the vector, represented by a look or a hand gesture, one can distinguish a passive and active participant in the narrative. «The naturalistic image, whatever else it may be about, is always also about detail. It contains a multitude of embedded `analytical' processes», - as G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen write (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006: 50). Due to the vector as an action, visual metaphor affects the visualization of space through the narrative in the frame. The distance between the participants of the dialogue, their emotions during the dialogue, as well as the symbols that surround them, deepen the photographic semiotic reality. A subject that contemplates this reality is immersed in a story. The construction of the narrative may occur similarly to tree-like structures, which can take different forms and be parallel, inclined, or straight in vertical and horizontal dimensions.

Owing to the participants in the narratives and tree-like structures of the story, the individual images and forms are combined into a whole one. Thus, the interpersonal form of communication in the photographic space can become a personal way of addressing the subject in the status of a viewer. Here, the vector, as an action, provides a spatio-temporal structure of the story through symbolic attributes. G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen provide their own features to the disposition of symbolic attributes in the frame, which affect the spatio-temporal structure of the narrative:

1) placed in the foreground, which gives the privilege of size in the frame, of lighting, of clear focus, of a noticeable color;

2) gestures in the frame, which through a vector demonstrate the primary meaning of the symbolic attribute in the frame, or which are directed towards the viewer;

3) details that seem inappropriate;

4) symbolic meaning of the attributes themselves (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006: 105).

A contact established with the viewer can have two communicative functions: visual direct address and visual indirect address. In this case, a smile, look, clothes and other details in the frame establish a social approximation to the reality of the viewer. «What in language is realized by words of the category `action verbs' is visually realized by elements that can be formally defined as vectors» (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006: 46). Thus, through an action that takes place between the characters in the frame or with the viewer, the subject receives a story that becomes a trap for him\her. He or she is forced to plunge into it, to become a participant in events. At this stage, their a priori interaction with objects begins to work and establishes his\her own place in the narrative. The subject does not choose the script of the story but becomes a participant in the actions that take place in the frame.

Topos. Another dimension of the photography's impact on the viewer is related to the size of the frame, objects in the frame, and the distance between them. When there is a choice between close-up, medium, or long shots of objects that appeal to the viewer, the author of the photo decides which shot to use when taking photos and making their post-correction. As well as a sight that can be directed both to the viewer and in the middle of the frame, the decision on the size of the distance represents different relations between the presented participants of the photo itself or with its viewers. The heroes of the photographic narrative can be depicted as a full figure in the frame, or only part of their figure, which affects the size of the space. For example, the extreme close-up of the hero, who looks directly at the viewer, significantly reduces the distance between two spaces (real and photographic). A close-up photographic character creates collaboration with the viewer's personal space, resulting in excitement, fear, and unpleasant emotions from such contact. The boundary of personal space is violated, which is a hint of intimate intervention. The distance in the middle of the frame, the color, perspective, lines, and even the angle of the shot, create an emotional acceptance/rejection of the message broadcasted by the photo. «If the represented participant is seen from a low angle, then the relation between the interactive and represented participants is depicted as one in which the represented participant has power over the interactive participant. If, finally, the picture is at eye level, then the point of view is one of equality and there is no power difference involved. This is, again, a matter of degree. A represented participant can tower high above us or look down on us ever so slightly» (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006: 140). Consequently, throughout visual communication, we must not forget about the influence of such details that determine our attitude to some things and topical issues that arise in society with the help of photography. Visual composition can also represent space through its correlation with the center around which symbolic attributes are formed, which can be understood as marginality. And even when there is nothing in the center, what is around it will form the center. At this point, the concept of «zero sign» by U. Eco is applicable, as emptiness is also a sign (see, for example: Eco, 1998).

G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen write, that the empty center may be a hint of God's absence. Or, in the secular sense, to indicate the horizontal level of organization of social life, where each sector (or institution of power) is self-sufficient, i.e. has the democratic foundations of society. Thus, the use of different techniques during photography can both expand the photographic space and collaborate it into the space of reality.

Chronos. Another peculiarity of photographic space, which correlates with the space of the real world, is its division into parts. The upper part is related to the status, to the idea of a dream, that is always exploited by ad posters' creators, who offer a service or a product that brings you closer to your dream. Photography, through symbolic attributes such as the sun, the sky, birds, and the treetops, also refers to images associated with sensuality. In turn, the lower part is more rational, it is full of symbols that make you analyze the present, rather than dream about the future. «In such texts the upper section visualizes the `promise of the product', the status of glamour it can bestow on its users, or the sensory fulfilment it can bring. The lower section visualizes the product itself, providing more or less factual information about it, and telling the readers or users where it can be obtained, or how they can request more information about it, or order it», - G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen write (Kress, Leeuwen, 2006: 186). These two spaces may have a conflict at the level of contradistinction of symbolic attributes in each space separately, like opposition, and at the level of dividing lines. These lines can be represented by a skyline, color contrast, or playing with the light. Due to the opposition character of the upper and lower spaces in the visual text, the ideal and the real are represented, which appeals to the real world.

Western civilization reads information linearly, following the features of the verbal text - from left to right; visual texts, in their turn, allow the viewer to choose the sequence of contemplation. But, in fact, the habit of linear reading dominates in the perception of visual texts. Thus, linear texts impose syntagmatics on the reader, affect the sequence of perception, and form a connection between symbolic elements. Therefore, according to the horizontal spatial photographic dimension, time is divided into «today» and «tomorrow», or «yesterday» and «today». Interestingly, this approach is still used today when presenting a result after solving a specific problem. When two photos are compared, a photo on the left is provided with the caption «before», and a photo on the right is provided with the caption «after». This technique is used when it is necessary to present a new product or new service, which is usually located on the right as «new».

The division of photographic space into the top, bottom, right, left and center is inherent in any culture, but the significance of each part of space depends on religious, cultural, and historical traditions. In addition, we can't say that all relations that may be realized linguistically or culturally can as well be realized through visual reading. Accordingly, G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen repeatedly emphasize that their approach to image deciphering depends on historical and cultural features, and does not claim to be universal. But the very fact that the subject continues to apply the skills of information perception received in the context of certain cultural traditions in the real dimension, is unconditional.

As for the influence of cultural development on the perception of visual texts, Heinrich Velflin once noted that there are general patterns of perception of works. And, together with that, the same pattern exists for creation and change of style in art (for example: from classical art to baroque). According to H. Velflin, there are two styles of artistic vision: linear (relating to contour) and painterly (blurred mass). «Linear vision, in this case, means that the meaning and beauty of things lies primarily in the contours - whilst the internal forms have their own contours - the eyes move along the boundaries as if palpating the edges of objects, while the vision in the masses happens when attention is diverted from the edges, when contour as a visual path has become more or less indifferent to the eyes and objects as visible spots are the main elements of impression» (Velflin, 2018: 34). So, a linear vision distinctly separates one form from another, whereas a painterly vision brings to a set of objects. Understanding the demand for visual texts today and the technological conditions of their creation, modern human applies linear and painterly vision when getting acquainted with photographic text. But one's own experience also establishes own prejudices. Therefore, an important role in this process is played by intercultural communication, which should be taken into account by authors of visual texts, if a question of images' decoding arises. As Griselda Pollock writes, all the paintings need is a careful look (see, for example: Pollock, 1995: 38-66).

A priori form of contemplation

A priori form of contemplation, due to its sensory properties, is reflected in different forms of information transmission that is perceived as truth. At that moment, the natural ability of the subject to feel only the object of imagination is not taken into account. Thus, we perceive and trust the results of contemplation conditioned by the apriority mechanism. And we are dealing with interpretations and various forms of interpretations, while the very object of contemplation remains beyond our knowledge. All information related to knowledge is a field of individual and social ideas, which in general is an imitation of reality.

Certainly, long before Kant's a priori theory, ancient philosophers identified the concept of «image» and «picture» as a negative determinant of perception of outward things. It was Plato who pointed out that only thinkers can comprehend the truth through sensory images. In proof of his theory, the philosopher pointed to ordinary people who, being «prisoners of the cave,» see only shadows. To get rid of such deception, it is necessary to develop the ability to see. Plato even gives instructions on how to do it: «You have to start with the easiest: firstly, look at the shadows, then - at the reflection of people and various objects in the water, and only after that - at things as they are; at the same time, for him, it was easier to see the sky and what is in it not in the day, but at night, i.e., to look at the starlight and the Moon, and not at the Sun and sunlight» (Plato, 1971: 516). This is the way to find the truth that is hidden behind the appearance of things in the world. «The ascent and contemplation of things in the heights is the raising of soul to the level of mind's comprehension» (Plato, 1971: 517). Since birth, a person has all the opportunities given from above. The most important thing is to develop them in the right direction, including the ability to see. However, according to Plato, people look in a completely different direction and bring themselves in a world of emptiness. «Haven't you noticed that those called bad but intelligent people have a perceptive soul and an ability to see through what they need? So, their vision is good, but it is forced to serve their vices, and the sharper they see, the more evil they do (Plato, 1971: 518-519). Therefore, according to the philosopher, it is crucial to get cleansed of vices that interfere with everything. Only in this way, the world will have more sages able to combine the ability to see and not commit evil. Supporting Plato, T. Hobbes pointed to phantoms and illusions, which as «idols of consciousness», firmly fixed themselves inside human consciousness.

Based on research by G. Kress and T. van Leeuwen, who studied space and time in the visual text, the moment of reflection of a priori sensuality of the subject is very important. Photography expands this property, transfers it to another space. When the sensations of space and time of the real world are represented in the photographic text, the phenomenon of heterotopia appears. The term was introduced by M. Foucault; in post-structuralism the concept of «heterotopia» describes an alternative space that does not correspond to reality, but has a connection with it. In his work «Of Other Spaces» M. Foucault gives an example of a mirror:»… based on the data of the mirror, I find that I am not present where I am, as I see myself in the mirror» (Foucault, 2006: 196). However, due to the mirror, the subject can percept the reality in which he\she is present. Heterotopia, as an alternative space, communicates and influences reality through images. Unlike utopia, which has no place, heterotopia has a location. We can assume that photography is also related to another space that intersects with reality. It not just points to reality as its imitation, but also returns the subject to reality. And through the analysis of space and time in the photographic text you can see how the a priori sense of space and time in the real world of the subject is actualized. This characteristic is explained by the fact that depending on the level of space and time understanding in photographic space (a virtual one), in real life space and time can be understood even more deeply. «Reading» - as they prefer to say now - of these different spaces, is at the same time mythical and real contestation over the place where we live; such a description can be called heterotopology,» - M. Foucault wrote (Foucault, 2006: 197).

Today, the digital age and technologies for creating and transmitting information through digital means have influenced the communication system of society. At the same time, the algorithm of perception of reality has changed, where the power of images has seized all areas of activity. With that, returning to I. Kant, society forgets about the conditionality of information perception, where apriority is associated only with sensuality, mind, and reason, and not the objects around which information is built. That is why, M. Foucault did not have a clear answer to the question of why two forms of thinking in different planes can use each other, as it is difficult to determine the point of presence of heterotopia. But he determined certain principles of functioning of alternative space:

1) crisis heterotopias, where the subject due to superstitions and privileges experiences a crisis in relation to society. Today, these are prevalently deviation heterotopias, which indicate not so much an internal crisis of the subject, as their deviation behavior in relation to society (prisons, nursing homes);

2) society affects the functioning of heterotopias (cemeteries);

3) heterotopia combines several spaces that may be incompatible with each other in one place (theater, garden);

4) heterochrony, which influences heterotopia during the split of the traditional chronos (museums, libraries);

5) places that have openness and, simultaneously, certain insularity. They are open and isolated at the same time (mill, barracks, church);

6) illusiveness of one space that indicates the illusiveness of another space (brothels, prisons).

Ultimately, according to Foucault, the political institutions themselves perform functions of heterogeneity, because it is the ratio between elements of power that affects the level of political regime. The establishment of a discursive object is a form of power. Objects are always discursive. Even non - discursive ones become discursive when they get involved in interpretation. There is no standard that would point to a symbol's meaning but there is apriority of contemplation that affects the meaning. Hence, in different realities, the subject uses a natural mechanism to obtain information during contemplation. And photography is exactly that mirror through which the subject is able to make a «transition» from one reality to another, using his\her own mechanism of orientation in space and time. Thus, trough the narrative, chronos, and topos in the visual text, symbols are able to involve the subject in a «journey» to other realities and to uncover the reality in which the subject is. Intersubjectivity acquires new features as a result of such «journeys».

Sociologist Michel Maffesoli writes about the modern loss of a subject who has become a person (Maffesoli, 2012). As even the ability to percept time and space disappears under the influence of digital areas of life. The multidimensionality of a person affects the multidimensionality of his\her thoughts, which are constantly changing. The scholar introduces the concept of «tribes», personifying sensuality (he writes about the territory, taste, and the return of the eternal child). The social, as a connection of time, is formed in a locality where a person obtains traditions and skills of solidarity, mutual assistance, and compassion. The sense of territory, influenced by tastes, obtains features of the world. «A world, where a commonality of taste is a legitimation, a full-fledged rationalization of the pleasure of coexistence, of living together» (Maffesoli, 2016: 285). Locality and taste also influence the behavior of a modern person, who in the conditions of the territory under the influence of modern tastes (like fashion), turns into an «eternal child». «Everyone tries to talk as a youngster, dress as a youngster, stay young, and such examples are countless. Meanwhile, it becomes absolutely obvious that the natural mechanism of such an «eternal child» is a mechanism of fusion [une structure fusionnelle] or even confusion [confusionnelle]» (Maffesoli, 2016: 286). If modernism is built on the principles of unity, where identity (and the state) must conform to the established canon, a modern man is disunited and can belong to different tribes territorially and in time. This gives rise to a form of communication that is mainly emotional than rational. Territoriality in the skills of the subject does not disappear, it remains but with properties of instability and non-equilibrium.

When a subject finds himself between two realities, it is difficult to prove where objectivity and where subjectivity is, because the act of seeing is predictable. Apriority of contemplation used in the perception of objects in different spaces gives impressions and emotions. And it splits the subject even more, as the demarcation line between virtual and real spaces is lost. The predicted mechanical procedure of reading visual texts can be not only a technique to influence the behavior, but indicate the personal loss of the subject, which has already violated the boundaries between virtual and real worlds.

References