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Is There Really Something Which Might Be Called a 'Self-Demonstrating Picture' : Even Within Scientific Imagery? Some Observations on a Double Illusion of Communication

Weimarck, Torsten LU (2012) The Image in Science: Infrequently Asked Questions. Responses of the humanities to visualism in science. Vol. 5(No. 1-2, 2010/11). p.71-87
Abstract
I will propose some ideas about such pictures claiming to be self-demonstrating or selfillustrating, mostly using some classical anatomy illustrations. Based on these you may say that the anatomy seems to create a remarkable, realistic pictorial code, which casts together in one single, selfdemonstrating shape, an object of knowledge with the properties of the natural object itself. This is the paradox of the self-demonstrating picture’s double illusion of communication: on the one hand it seems to be a picture of the natural appearance of the object, but on the other it is, in fact, simultaneously a depiction of a cognitive concept, a visual name of this object. It is a conditional and man-made classification, which is embodied into the... (More)
I will propose some ideas about such pictures claiming to be self-demonstrating or selfillustrating, mostly using some classical anatomy illustrations. Based on these you may say that the anatomy seems to create a remarkable, realistic pictorial code, which casts together in one single, selfdemonstrating shape, an object of knowledge with the properties of the natural object itself. This is the paradox of the self-demonstrating picture’s double illusion of communication: on the one hand it seems to be a picture of the natural appearance of the object, but on the other it is, in fact, simultaneously a depiction of a cognitive concept, a visual name of this object. It is a conditional and man-made classification, which is embodied into the body itself. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
scientific images, anatomy, picture theory, self-demonstrating pictures
host publication
Ideas in History. Journal of the Nordic Society in the History of Ideas
editor
Dorfman, Ben
volume
Vol. 5
issue
No. 1-2, 2010/11
pages
17 pages
publisher
Museum Tusculanum Press
conference name
The Image in Science: Infrequently Asked Questions. Responses of the humanities to visualism in science.
conference dates
2009-11-06
ISSN
1890-1832
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The paper is accepted to be published in the journal Ideas in History.
id
8cf843ce-c571-4a5d-be67-71c84d2d79b6 (old id 1730774)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:29:06
date last changed
2025-04-04 13:57:01
@inproceedings{8cf843ce-c571-4a5d-be67-71c84d2d79b6,
  abstract     = {{I will propose some ideas about such pictures claiming to be self-demonstrating or selfillustrating, mostly using some classical anatomy illustrations. Based on these you may say that the anatomy seems to create a remarkable, realistic pictorial code, which casts together in one single, selfdemonstrating shape, an object of knowledge with the properties of the natural object itself. This is the paradox of the self-demonstrating picture’s double illusion of communication: on the one hand it seems to be a picture of the natural appearance of the object, but on the other it is, in fact, simultaneously a depiction of a cognitive concept, a visual name of this object. It is a conditional and man-made classification, which is embodied into the body itself.}},
  author       = {{Weimarck, Torsten}},
  booktitle    = {{Ideas in History. Journal of the Nordic Society in the History of Ideas}},
  editor       = {{Dorfman, Ben}},
  issn         = {{1890-1832}},
  keywords     = {{scientific images; anatomy; picture theory; self-demonstrating pictures}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{No. 1-2, 2010/11}},
  pages        = {{71--87}},
  publisher    = {{Museum Tusculanum Press}},
  title        = {{Is There Really Something Which Might Be Called a 'Self-Demonstrating Picture' : Even Within Scientific Imagery? Some Observations on a Double Illusion of Communication}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3399376/3167831.pdf}},
  volume       = {{Vol. 5}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}