Philosophy made visual

5-1-1999

Philosophy made visual

Kirk Gustafson

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Recommended Citation

A Thesissubmittedtothe

Faculty

oftheCollegeof

Imaging

ArtsandSciences in candidacy for the degreeofMasterofFine Arts

Philosophy

made visual

Kirk Gustafson

/2.

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Chief Advisor

Deborah Beardslee

date

Associate Professor, Graphic Design

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.

Associate Advisor

Carla Katz

date

Chair, Learning Support Services

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9

51

Associate Advisor

David Suits

date

Associate Professor, Philosophy

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£

Chairperson

Nancy Ciolek

date

School of Design

Associate Professor, Graphic Design

I, Kirk Gustafson, hereby grant permission to the Wallace Memorial Library of RIT to reproduce

my thesis in whole or in part. Any reproduction will not be for commercial use or profit.

All my

family

and

friends,

fortheirencouragement and supporttheselast twoyears.

Roger

Remington,

for hispassionforandknowledgeof graphicdesign history. Deborah

Beardslee,

for heranalytical approachto problem-solvingand graphicdesign.

Allof_{myclassmates,}fortheselast two_rewardingand unforgettable years. Scott

Lin,

Erin

Sarfosky,

andWen-Bin

Wu,

fortheir timeand expertise in Alias. Ed

Walker,

forthegraphicdesigneducationhegave me atMillikin University. Carla

Katz,

for her knowledgeofHowardGardner.

David

Suits,

for his knowledgeofPlato.

Thesis Project Definition 1

Research

HowardGardner's

Theory

ofMultipleIntelligences 2

Precedent:

Key

School 4

Plato's LevelsofCognition "DividedLine"

5

"Allegory

oftheCave" 6

Synthesis 7

Ideation

Diagram 9

Photographs 10

Visual Metaphors 14

Viewer Participation 15

Exhibition Design Development 17

Implementation 30

Evaluation 37

Further Implementation 40

Dissemination 50

RetrospectiveEvaluation 51

Conclusion 52

Glossary

ofTerms 53

Bibliography

54

Appendices 56

AppendixA: ExternalAudit Examples

Everyone doesnotlearn in thesame way.

Whilesome people areproneto learnbestwhen presentedwith_auditoryinformationin the form

of

lectures,

otherslearn betterwhen presented with visual material.Asa result,educatorsare

facedwiththeproblem of_{communicating in}a mannerthataccommodatestheneeds of all of

theirstudents.

Achallengedevelopswhen educatorsteach abstract or non-concrete concepts such asthose involved inphilosophy.Somestudentshave little tono

difficulty

readingpages oftextwhich

describea philosopher'stheories.Othersareforcedtostruggle.Although thosestudents who

dostruggle are abletolearn

by listening

orreading,atremendouseffortisnecessary

by

both thestudent andthe teacher.Insteadof

forcing

all studentsintoone

learning

mold,educators must addressthedifferentstrengths and

learning

styles of alltheirstudents.Toachievethis goal,a_varietyof

teaching

strategiesmustbeemployed.

Whenfacedwithpresentingwritten or aural material,onestrategyateachercanemploy is to teachwiththeuse of visuals.Howcanabstract,non-concrete concepts such as philosophical

argumentsbevisuallytranslated inanefforttoaddressthevisually-orientedlearner? This

question wastheinitial impetus forthis thesisstudy.

Specifically,

the studyfocusedonhowgraphicdesigncan be implementedas an educational

tool to

help

visually-orientedcollege-aged studentslearna particular philosophical concept.

Severalareas ofphilosophywere analyzedtodeterminethespecific philosophical

theory

upon whichthe thesiswouldfocus. Sincemost,ifnotall,

introductory

philosophycoursesincollege

HowardGardner's

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligences

After preliminaryresearchon

learning

stylesand

learning

_theory,Howard Gardner's

Theory

of Multiple Intelligenceswasselectedasthe

learning

style

theory

on whichtobasethestudy.This decisionwas supported

by

variousreasons,chief of which wasGardner'sanalysis anddismissal of earlierintelligence theories

(Binet-Simon,

Piaget)onthebasisoflimitedor restricteddomains

(Gardner,

26). Anotherreasonforselection ofGardner's

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligenceswasthe acknowledgmentand acceptance ofthe

theory

by

manyeducationalinstitutionsacrossAmerica.

In

1983,

after years of_research,Howard GardnerpublishedFramesofMind: The

Theory

of Multiple Intelligenceswhereinhefirst discusses both thestrengths and weaknesses of previous intelligencetheories.Theearlierintelligencetheorieswereprimarilylanguage-based.

Therefore,

the testsfavoreda section ofthehumanpopulation such asthosewhohave beenassimilated intoan educational system

(16,

18). Afterthedismissaloftheserestricted_theories,Gardner proposes anintelligence

theory

applicabletoall ofthehumanpopulation.Hethen proceeds toofferhis_theoryof,notone,butseveralintelligencesall of which are possessed

by

everyone.

To determinewhathewouldultimatelycallan

intelligence,

Gardnertested theintelligence against a set of criteria.The intelligencemust relatetoa specificbrain locationandfunction. The intelligencemustbecapable of symbolic representation.The intelligence mustbevalued

HowardGardner's

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligences(continued)

With thesecriteria

firmly

in_place,Gardnerselectedthe

following

sevenintelligences:

Linguistic Intelligence

the ability touselanguage toexpressemotions,thoughts,orideasandtounderstand others

Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

the abilityto think_conceptuallyandtounderstand_{the underlying}principles of a causal system or_{the ability}tomanipulatenumbers, quantities,and operations

Spatial Intelligence

theability toperceivetheworldaccurately, tosee or visualizethespatial world

internally

inthe

mind,andtorepresenttwo-dimensionalinformation inathree-dimensionalform

Bodily

Kinesthetic Intelligence

theabilitytousethewhole

body

or parts ofthe

body

tosolve aproblem,tomakesomething,

ortoput on somekindof a production

Musical Intelligence

the abilitytothinkinmusic,tobeableto hearpatterns,recognize_them,remember_them, and manipulatethem

InterpersonalIntelligence

the abilitytounderstand others

Intrapersonal Intelligence

the ability tounderstandone's self with afocusonself-reflection

Asa result ofhiscontinued research andstudyof

intelligences,

Gardner_recentlyadded

an eighthintelligence,thenaturalisticintelligence.

Naturalistic Intelligence

Spatial Intelligence

Theelementalcharacteristicsofthespatialintelligencearethe_abilitytonavigate within an

environment, the abilitytochangeor_{modifyperceptions,} andtheability to visuallyrecreate

experiences.Gardner_writes,"Spatial intelligenceremains

fundamentally

tiedtotheconcrete

world,to theworld of objects andtheirlocation in theworld"

(204).Thearea in the brainwhere

thespatialintelligence lies istheposterior region oftherighthemisphere.The developmentof

spatialintelligence in humanscanbe traced back to thecavedrawingsand sculptures ofthe

Paleolithicera.

Thomas

Armstrong,

aformerstudent of

Gardner,

writesinhisownbookentitledMultiple Intelligences in the Classroom thatvisuallyoriented learnersneed

"art, LEGOs,

video, movies, slides,imaginationgames, mazes, puzzles,illustrated

books,

[and]trips toart

museums"

inordertoaddresstheirspecific needs(27). Further in the

book, Armstrong

listsseveral

teaching

strategies educators can utilizetoaddresstheirstudents'

needs.Theseactivities

include"visual presentations,artactivities,imaginationgames,mindmapping, metaphor, [and]visualization"

(52).

Precedent:

Key

School

In Septemberof

1987,

the

Key

School in Indianapolis becamethefirstschooltoimplement Gardner'stheoriesinto itscurriculum.Studentsare exposedtophysicaleducation, art, music, foreign

language,

and computers_everyschool day. Three timesa yeartheentire school's

curriculum revolves arounda centraltheme,such asRenaissance

-Then andNow. Thestudents

presentto their teachersideas forprojectsreflecting thecurrenttheme.Studentsare also able

tobecomea member of a particular"pod"or_groupof students with a particularinterest. The

pod is led

by

ateacherknowledgeableaboutthespecificinterest

(Armstrong,

111-13).

Thesuccessofthe

Key

School givescredibilitytoGardner'stheories.

Essentially,

the

Key

School

demonstrated_that,throughthe implementationofGardner's

learning

_theory,students canlearn

Plato's LevelsofCognition

This thesis studyappliesspatialintelligence

teaching

strategiesto Plato's

theory

ofdifferent levelsofcognitionwhichheputsforth in The Republic. Platowrote The Republicasa collection oftheideasofhis teacher Socrates. ThethesisofThe Republic istodeterminewhatjusticeis

andhow itcanbe implemented insociety.Socrates begins

by looking

at what makesa statejust and whether or notthesesame principles are applicabletoindividuals. Socrates believes that

thisidyllicstate canbeachievedif thephilosopher rules.Thephilosophersarethe onlyones

truly

fittorulebecause

they

know "the Good

itself,

thefinalcause of allthatisgood inthe universe and ofits_veryexistence"

(quoted in

Cornford,

175). Therestof_societythenbecomes

educated

by

thephilosophersin

"virtue,

basednot on immediate

knowledge,

butoncorrect belief"

(quoted in

Cornford,

175).

The Divided Line

Inorderforphilosopherstoknow "theGood"so

they

maycreate ajuststate,

they

mustpass throughfour levelsof cognition symbolized

by

a line. The line isunequallydivided into two

parts

-thesmallerWorldofAppearancesandthelarger WorldofIdeaswhichcontains a greater

degreeof_{reality than the}WorldofAppearances. Thetwoworlds arethendivided inthesame proportion asthewholeline is divided. The line isnowdivided into four_segments,each representinga waytoknowreality.Eachsegmentisclosertorealitythanthe_precedingsegment.

Thefirstsegment oftheWorldofAppearances is

imagining,

wherein imagesand morals are accepted

blindly

without_questioningor

judging

them.

Thesecondsegmentis

believing,

wherein physical objects areunderstood,and"correct beliefs

without

knowledge"

are characteristic

(Cornford,

222). It involvesmovement_{away from}

impressionsorimagesof an objecttowards theactual physical objectitself. Correct morals and values are_onlyrecognized,butnot supported

by

thoughtorknowledge.

Thethird segment,thinking,isthebridge betweenappearances and intelligiblereality.The bridge isaided withthe

help

ofdiagramsand models.In_{this segment,}deductive_reasoning,

as utilizedin thephysicalsciences andgeometry,isused as atoolof abstraction.

Thus,

a move awayfromthephysical worldtowards theWorldofIdeas ispossible.WithintheWorldof

Ideas,

Formsorthe"idealsorpatterns,whichhavea real existenceindependentof our minds"

are

discovered(Cornford, 180). The logicwhichprovides supportfortheForms isquestionableuntil the underlyingprincipleis known.

The fourthsegment represents

knowing {i.e.,

true

knowing,

asopposed_{to merely}

believing),

whichtries firsttodiscovertheessenceof an object(Form) andthen the_underlying principle

("the Good").

Finally

throughtheuse ofinductionandtheexamination of each_preceding premise, the"self-evidentand unconditional

principle"

is known

(Cornford,

251). Platosays

knowing

"makesno use oftheimagesemployed in theother_sections,but_onlyofFormsand conductsits

inquiry

only

by

theirmeans"

(Cornford,

251). PlatocallstheprimalForm "the Good."

Only

throughknowledgeof"theGood"

Allegory

oftheCave

To furtherexplaintheconceptswithinthe"DividedLine,"

Platotellsastoryofaprisoner_who, when releasedfrom hischains,leaves the WorldofAppearancessymbolized

by

thecave and comestoknow the WorldofIdeassymbolized astheworld outsidethecave.

Deep

within acave, prisoners are chained so

they

_{may look only}straight ahead atthecave wall in frontofthem.Behindand abovetheprisonersisafire.

Standing

betweenthefireand theprisonersisa wallbehindwhich people walkcarryingobjects on poles.The firecastsits lightupontheobjects

thereby

_producingshadows onthecave wallin frontoftheprisoners. Theshadowsandthenoises made

by

thepeople_carryingtheobjects arethe_onlythings the

prisoners

know;

it istheirreality.

Ifa prisoner were releasedfrom hischains and werethen ableto turn around,hewould atfirst be blinded

by

thelightofthefire. After hisvisionadjusted, theprisoner wouldthenbeableto

climbtheinclineto thewall.Whenshowntheobjects whichhadcasttheshadows onthecave

wall,hewould atfirstsweartheseobjects were not realbecausehe had no priorknowledgeof

theseobjects.

Eventually,

theseobjects wouldbecomethebasis for theprisoner's new concept of reality.

Iftheprisoner werethendragged therest ofthewayout ofthe cave,hewould againbe blinded

by lights,

this time

by

thelightofthesun.Hewouldtakecomfortinthingshe knew

-reflections and shadows.Overtime theprisoner wouldbeableto look_upand viewthestars andthelight reflectedfromthemoon.Ashiseyes continuedto adjust,hewouldknowtheworldaroundhim.

Next,theprisoner wouldbegintoquestionthecause ofthelightwhichilluminates theobjects hesees.Unabletolookatthesun_directly,hewouldlookatthesunreflectedinwater.Then he wouldbeableto lookatthesunaround objects such astrees.

Finally,

theprisoner would beable

tolook inthe sky towards thesun andknow itisresponsibleforthelight hesees around him.

Iftheprisoner weretogoback down intothe cave,hewould needtimefor hisvisiontobecome accustomedto thelackoflight.Given hisnew

knowledge,

hewouldnotrecognizetheshadows infrontofhimashewas abletobefore his journey. Hisfellowprisonerswould ridiculehim for

traveling

outsidetheirreality.

Plato believesonlyphilosophers can undertakethe

journey

to thesurface and cometoknow

thesunor"theGood."

Unfortunately,thephilosopherstend toremain outsidethecave_and, thus,donotreturntoaidtheirfellowcountrymen.Thephilosophers must returnto thecave and govern_societybecause_theyhavea_{better understanding}of_realityand ofthepureforms.

They

are ableto"recognize_everyobjectforwhatit isand whatitrepresents"

(quoted in

Cornford,

234).

An audit or_samplingof_existingmaterials wastakentoexaminehowgraphicdesignhas been usedtocommunicatetheabstracttothevisually-oriented.Inordertoget anideaofhow graphicdesign hasaccomplishedthistask,

twenty

examples_coveringa range of applications (publication

design,

logo

design,

wayfinding,

film,

exhibition

design,

_{among others),}content

(military,

science, math,travel,philosophy, among others)andcomplexityofinformation (train stops,rulesforvarioussports, perception andthebrain,postmodernism, among others),were gathered and analyzed.

Analysisoftheexamplesin Appendix Arevealedthefollowing:

Communication Vehicles

Diagramswerethemost

frequently

usedformat- 11times. Photographswere used5times.

Mapswere used4times.

Typography

was used3times.

Participation,

movement,andvisual metaphor were used2 timeseach.

Sound,

space,and lightwere used 1timeeach. Combinationsoftwoormoreformatsoccurred12times.

Typeof

Imagery

All theexamples used

flat,

two-dimensional

imagery

exceptBrain Exhibit

whichincorporatedthree-dimensionalobjects. Illustrationswere used 15times.

Photographswere used9times.

Combinationsof photographs and illustrationsoccurred 5times.

ImageorText Dominance

Theexampleswereprimarilyimage dominant (12examples). Threeexamples weretext dominant.

Fiveexamples showed atext-imagesplitdominance.

Language

Headlineswerecomposedprimarilyofkeywords (12examples). Phraseswere usedin 8examples.

Acombination ofkeywordsand phrases was used

by

4examples. Fourexamples didnothave headlines.

Typically,

body

textwaswritten insentences(13examples). Oneexample usedbothsentences andkeywords.

Analysisoftheexamplesin Appendix A

(continued)

Sequencing

Elevenoftheexamplesused aformof sequencing.

Interaction

Sixoftheexamples used aformofinteraction.

In_summary,theanalysis showed atrend towardcommunicatingabstract or complexinformation

primarily through diagramsor a combination oftwoor moreformats. Asmall

tendency

todepict

theinformationas anillustrationratherthana photograph also existed.Althougha majority oftheexampleswereimage

dominant,

allincorporated_text, most of which appearedin the form

ofkeywordor phraseheadlinesand sentence

body

text.Halftheexamplespossessedaformof

Initially,

theformofdesign applicationforthis thesis studywas anon-traditional

book,

butthe

resultsfrom theanalysisof_existingmaterials(pages 7-8andAppendixA)offered alternative forms for the designapplication.

During

the ideationstage, theideaofthenon-traditionalbook

was placed asidetoexplore other options which might prove more appropriateforthe topic. Severalcommunicationformatswerediscoveredas a result oftheexternal audit performed in

thesynthesis stage. Explorationoftheseapproaches appearsbelow.

Diagram

The first directionwastoexplorethe topic throughadiagram (see below). Although

brief,

thediagramexploration provedbeneficial because itnot_onlywas a simple_{way to translate}

thewritten material intoa visual

form,

but italsohelpedtoexplaintherelationshipbetween

the"DividedLine"

andthe

"Allegory

oftheCave"to the thesiscommittee membersand_any students unfamiliar withPlato's LevelsofCognition.

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Photographs

Thesecondexploration involvedtheuseofphotographs.Aseriesof photographs was placed

edgetoedgetoformone

long

continuousimage.Theresultantimage depictedtheprisoner's

journey

from

deep

withinthecavetooutsidethecave wherehe isfirst blinded

by

thelight before hiseyes adjust.The imageends with a depictionoftheprisoner's returntothecave

wherehetellstheother prisoners ofhis_newlyacquiredknowledge. As theprisoner gains

knowledge,

thewidthoftheindividual images (shownbelow)andthenumber ofimages

within each area onthepathtowards knowledge increases.

Theprisoner sees a shadow.

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Theprisonerisreleased and seestheobject_{casting the}shadow andthefire.

Theprisonerleavesthecave andis blinded

by

thelightoutsidethecave.

Theprisoner_{finds security in}shadows and at night.

Theprisonerlooksattheworld around him.

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Theprisonerbegins to looktoward thesun.

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Theprisoner recognizesthatthesunisthesource ofthelight hesees.

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Theprisonerbecomesreaccustomedto the lackoflight.

Theprisonertellshisfellowprisoners what_theyare_{actually seeing}onthecave wall.

MM

Evaluationofthisexploration revealedthephotographs could notstandalone.The intended

audience,college-agedstudents,isnot expectedtoknow Plato's

"Allegory

oftheCave"or

the"DividedLine."

Therefore,thephotographs needaccompanimentoftextand/orspoken

explanationinorderfortheviewerto completelyunderstandthephilosophicalcontent.This

revelationwasimportant becausetheviewerisnot expectedtopossessknowledgeofthe

Visual Metaphors

Visualmetaphors(symbolic imagesusedtocompare an unfamiliar concepttoafamiliar

concept)were also exploredtotranslate thecontentinto termsor experiencesof which college-aged students possess priorknowledge. Initialthoughtswere simple and_eventuallybecame more complex.Oneexample appliedPlato's LevelsofCognitiontoan example of a mountain.

imagining

seeinganimageof mountain onTVorina magazine

believing

seeingtheactual mountain

thinking

comparing themountaintoother mountains

knowing

knowing

theessence ofthemountain

The_thinkingphase wouldinvolvetheuse of

diagrams,

while a pictogram would comprisethe

knowing

phase.Uponevaluation of_{this example, thesis}committee members raised concerns aboutthelogicand reasoningbehindtheexample. Oneconcern wastoensurethat theexample

isuniversal and not specifictoone particular group'sideaoftheessence of a mountain.

Thesubsequent re-examination showedthe necessityoftwodifferentsets of examplesto

adequatelyaddressthecontent ofboth the "DividedLine"

andthe

"Allegory

oftheCave."

Oneset of examples would paralleltheCavewhiletheother set parallelstheDivided Line.

Application ofthemountain example_{using the}new criteria yieldedthefollowing:

Allegory

oftheCave

image photographofthemountain

model model ofthemountain

diagram iconor pictogram ofthemountain

3-Dobject theactual mountain

Divided Line

imagining

photograph ofthemountain

believing

theactual mountain

thinking scientificdiagramsofhowthemountain

formed,

etc.

knowing

"theGood"

Severalproblemsbecameapparent

during

theevaluation ofthese twosets ofexamples.

First,

itwouldbe impossibletoplace anactual mountain or_anythree-dimensionalobjectintoa

two-dimensionalformatsuch asa

book,

brochure,or poster.

Second,

duetosizeconstraints,

anyexamplechosentobefurther developedmustbesmallerthana mountain.

Last,

howwill

"theGood"

berepresented?Platostatesthat"theGood"

cannotberepresentedin the form

of anobject,nor can it begiventoanyone

-theindividualmust worktounderstand and

Viewer Participation

One idea (shown

below)

involving

viewer participation alsoincorporated theuse of visual

metaphors.Awall is divided into four levels. Each level istaller thanthelevel below. The levels are_{then equally divided}

by

thenumber of metaphors.Someofthecolumnshaveallfour levels filledwith either an

image,

aword,or a phrase.Examples in thecolumns relatePlato's four

levelsofcognitiontoobjects and activities commonto

daily

life. One possible metaphoris

athletics.Onthelowest levelofthewall(the

imagining

cognitive

level),

theviewer seesimages of various_sportingactivities.Aboveonthenextlevel (the

believing

cognitive

level),

theviewer seesthesports equipment.Thethirdlevel (the_thinkingcognitivelevel)consists of an icon representingathletics.The

knowing

cognitivelevel isrepresented inthefourth levelas abright lighttosymbolize_{the overlying}principle or"theGood."

Insome ofthe columns,one section

remainsunfilled.With imagesmissing, thewallbecomesafill-in-the-blankgame.Viewersare given cluesbuteach viewerhastosolvethepuzzleindividually. A_visuallyoriented person can lookatthecomplete metaphors and visualize what might appearinthewall's_emptysections.

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Viewerparticipation was also addressed inathree-dimensionalexplorationofPlato'stheories. Initialstudiesinvolved

building

an exhibition withfourstagestorepresentthefour levels

of cognition.Eachstage would_visuallydepictshadows, objects, reflections,amongothers correspondingwith a particular cognitivelevel. Theviewer would encounterinclinesand declineswhile

journeying

out ofthecavetofind knowledgeandthen back intothecave totellhis fellowprisoners whathe learned. (Sketchesofthestudies appearbelow.)

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Preliminary

sketchforan exhibitionwithfour differentelevationstorepresentthefour LevelsofCognition.

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mi

im

Uponevaluation oftheinitialconcepts,thebestsolutioninvolveda combination of various

aspectsof each approach.Whileeach concept

by

itselfwasconceptuallystrong,ifcombined,

the resultingwholeismuch greaterthanany individualpart.Thefinal formoftheapplication wasdecidedtobean exhibitiondesign

incorporating

viewerparticipation,

diagrams,

visual metaphorsand photographs.

Exhibition Design Development

Withexhibitiondesignchosen asthe final formofthe thesis application,refinement ofthe

conceptsbegan. Sinceviewer movementinan exhibition is

important,

diagrammaticstudies (shown _below)were completedtoexplore movement patterns.

0

Baseduponthis exploration, the spirallingascentfollowed

by

adescentcommunicatedbest

theprisoner'sjourney. The diagramwasfurtherrefinedtoincludeacross-hatchedarea

depicting

an enclosed area.

Withpreliminaryplansformovement patternsthroughtheexhibition

begun,

the typeof

exhibition

-artifact ornarrative

-neededtobe decided beforethedevelopmentof an exhibitioncontent outline couldbegin. Anartifact exhibition issimilartomostart museum andhistorical/culturalinstitutionexhibitions.The_{paintings, ceramics, ruins,} and other artifacts are_displayed,and a viewer walksfromone

display

case or_{gallery to}thenext. Narrativeexhibitionsleadtheviewerthrougha story.Incontrasttoartifact museums

Since theexhibitionisnarrative,a content outline was_{necessary to}structuretheexhibition.

Thecontentoutlinedivided theexhibition into threemainsections:the"DividedLine,"

the

"Allegory

oftheCave,"

andtheMedia Cave

-alargerexample which appliesthe knowledge

learned in the first twosections.Theoutline willbeused asa_measuringstick withwhich

toevaluatetheeffectivenessof each section andtheexhibition as a whole.

Areas intheexhibit Communicationgoal Method

Section 1:

Allegory

oftheCave

background material introduce Plato

introduce hisobjectives

in The Republic

text image

timeline for historical information

groupexperience

open area

passive experience

explanation communicatethepassage

oftheprisonertoenlightenment

bridges

images

(moving

and static) circles,cyclical

light

sound

movementthroughspace

time

elevation(moveupward and return_downward)

increase in size of physical space

decline in thenumber of viewersinsame area

diagram

active experience

(movement,

participation)

example provideredundancy

giveapplicableexample(s)

movement upward

increase inspace(l,w,d)

time(transition fromone areatoanother)

participation

groupexperience changestoindividualexperience

activeexperience

transition movefrom_allegory

todivided line

movementupwardtoahigher levelofknowledge

increase in_groupsize

Areas in theexhibit Communicationgoal Method

Section 2: Divided Line

explanation communicatealevelof_reality

higherthancave example

elevation

diagramoftheline

groupexperience

passive experience(reading)

active experience(information unfoldsas viewerwalks)

example _applytheDivided Line

toapplicableexample(s)

transition introducethemedia cave

anditsgoals

groupexperience changestoindividualexperience

images

(moving

andstatic) light

sound

movement

time

elevation(moveupward)

increase insize of physical space asknowledge isgained

progressivedecline inthenumber of viewersin same area

diagrams

active experience

(movement,

participation)

movementdownward less light

increase in

intensity

of experience

text

Areas in theexhibit Communicationgoal Method

Section3: Media Cave applyPlato's levelsof cognition

tohow teenagers

develop

theirconcept of_reality

active,visual experience

imagining

communicatehowmedia parallelthecave's shadows

videoand slides projected onthe walls, ceiling,floor

sound

dark

largegroupexperience

various_viewingangles

shortlengthof experience

transition

journey

from

imagining

to

believing

short

journey

throughspace

upward motion

narrowingof corridor

samedarknessas

imagining

increase in heightof corridor

viewofthefire (projectionof afireor a"fire"wal

believing

showthemediatransmitters media objects

dark,

but lighterthan

imagining

medium_groupexperience

longerlengthof experience

largerspace(l,w,d)

transition communicatethechange

fromtheWorldofAppearances

to theWorldofIdeas

little longer

journey

throughspace

move upward

lightupon_exitingthecave

increase in height

narrowingof corridor

thinking communicatethescience behind media

light

diagrams,

charts

smallgroup

scrims with

diagrams,

etc.

elevated position of elements

spoken explanation of principles

longer lengthof experience

Areas intheexhibit Communicationgoal Method

Section 3: Media Cave(continued)

transition

knowing

transition

journey

from thinkingto

knowing

longer

journey

throughspace upward motion

increasein

intensity

oflight

narrowest corridor

communicate an experience

"theGood"

journey

to

imagining

largestspace

intenselight

individualexperience

areaofreflection

elevated position

silence

circle/center

longest lengthof experience

long

descent backtothecave whereviewerrejoinsgroup

narrow corridor

exit ascent

Unlike in The RepublicwherePlato discusses the Divided Line beforethecaveallegory, theexhibition presentsthecave_allegoryfirstandthentheDivided Line. Therationalebehind

thisdecisionwastograduallymovetheviewerfromsimple conceptstowardscomplex concepts.

It is importanttoinclude an example afterboththecave anddivided linesub-sections.

Theexample neededtobechosen_carefullysoitwas not_onlyapplicableand understandable

forallstudents,butthat everystudenthadan experience or someknowledgeoftheexample.

Withthesecriteriainmind, twopossibleexamples emergedfor further development: humans

andtransportation

-specificallyautomobiles.

The humanexample would parallelthecave anddivided linecontentin the

following

way:

Allegory

oftheCave

image reflectionin mirrors, shadows,photographs

model anatomical model

diagram iconor pictogramofhuman

3-Dobject theviewer

(standing

on apedestal)

Divided Line

imagining

believing

thinking

knowing

reflection in_{mirrors, shadows,} photographs

theviewer

(standing

on apedestal)

scientificdiagramsof

DNA,

molecules,etc.

Theautomobile examplewould parallelthecave and Divided Linecontent in the

following

way:

Allegory

oftheCave

image reflectioninmirrors, shadows, photographs

model scale model

diagram diagramof automobile

3-Dobject an automobile

Divided Line

imagining

reflectioninmirrors, shadows,photographs

believing

an automobile

thinking

scientificdiagramsofcombustion,etc.

knowing

"theGood"

Thesecond main part oftheexhibitinvolvesan application oftheknowledgegainedinthefirst

twosections.Since both the

"Allegory

oftheCave"andthe"DividedLine"

are concerned with

reality(what isreal and how_societycomestoknowreality),an examination was undertaken into howstudents cometoknowreality. Dueto many

factors,

a _majorityof_youngpeopleturn

to themedia as a substituteforactual experience andknowledge.

Unfortunately,

some view

and acceptthemedia atfacevalue_{imagining)without

delving

deeper

by

_{asking themselves}

whatit is_theyare_reallyviewing.Inthis sense, themediabecometheshadowsontheircave

wall.Forexample,

they

are notreallyseeinganAfrican culture,

they

areseeingtwo-dimensional imageson atelevision screen or a computer monitor{believing). Furtherand closer scientific

examination of_reality{thinking)reveals eachimagetobecomprised of

tiny

dotsoflightor,

inthecase of printed photographsinmagazines,

tiny

dotsof_{cyan, magenta, yellow,}andblack

inks.

Finally

thecomprehension of_{the primary}principle_{knowing)fromwhich all other principles

comeiswithin reach.Since knowledgeof"TheGood"

cannotbegiven,an area ofthoughtwill

allowtheviewertocontemplate what"the Good"

mightbeand,if theviewer can makethe

After thecontent outlinewas_completed,developmentoffloorplansfor theexhibition began.

Because itseemedbestsuitedfortheflowofthemediacave section's_narrative,the flow

diagramwhich wasdevelopedearlierin the implementationstage(seepage

23)

wasselected

for themedia cave section.Nextcametheprocess ofexploringhow thefirstpart oftheexhibit

wouldbecomposed spatially.Theseexplorations variedfroman _ascendingspiraltoan

ascending linearpath.

Exploration 1:

Preliminary

Exhibition Design Floorplan

Exploration 2:

Preliminary

Exhibition Design Floorplan

Analysisand evaluationoftheseparticularfloorplansrevealedthat theircomplexitymighthinder

or confusethe

learning

process.Toavoid viewerconfusion, theplan was simplified and made

more_{linear. A preliminary floorplan}and conceptdrawingsofthe interiorspaces ofthe Media Caveare shownbelow.

wm&

Divided Linesection

Allegory

ofthe Cavesection

(seeconceptual

drawing

on page

25)

Media Cavesection

Conceptual

drawing

oftheinteriorofthe

imagining

room oftheMedia Cave

in the preliminaryexhibition

Conceptual

drawing

ofthe interiorofthe

believing

room oftheMedia Cave

Conceptual

drawing

oftheinteriorofthe _thinkingroom oftheMedia Cave

in_{the preliminary}exhibition

Conceptual

drawing

oftheinteriorofthe

knowing

room oftheMedia Cave

The inherentproblem withthisfloorplanwasthelargeamount of unused space withinthe

frameworkoftheexhibition'sphysical structure.The floorplanneeded modificationinorder to minimizetheunusedspacewhile still_{retaining the}narrativeflowofthe information.

Severalsmallstudies,shown

below,

attemptedtocompacttheexhibition.

Divided Linesection

Allegory

oftheCave

section

Media Cavesection

Allegory

oftheCave

section Divided Linesection

From the studies, thesecondfloorplanwas chosenfor itseffective and efficient use of space.

Theplan wasthendrawn toscale and refinementsbegan.Specialattention was paid onhow

theviewer wouldexperiencethespace. Methodswhich wereimplemented intheexamples

collected

during

theexternal audit were analyzed againtodeterminewhichstill proved

appropriate inparticular spaces withintheexhibition.Modificationofthesecondfloorplan isshownbelow.

Allegory

of

theCave

section Media Cave

section

Exhibition Design Refinements

To remedy theseconcerns, thecontent outline was re-examinedto determinewhetherthree sectionsconstitutedthebestsolution and whether one section should receive a greater

emphasis.Asa result,thecontent outline changedfromthree main sections

("Allegory

ofthe Cave,"

"Divided Line,"andMediaCave)toonlytwomain sections("DividedLine"

andMedia

Cave)with an emphasis ontheMedia Cavesection.The

"Allegory

oftheCave"would stillbe addressed_{but only}as support or explanationfortheDividedLine information. This decision

also remains closerto howPlatousedthe

"Allegory

oftheCave"toexplaintheconcepts

alreadymentioned inthe"DividedLine."

Witha new contentorganization,design oftheexhibitionbegananew.

During

thisround of

modifications,thecontent andtheform begantounify.Thephysical space ofthe twosections

alsobecameparallel.The final floorplanappearsbelow.

entrance and exit

With the floorplan

beginning

to takeon a more cohesive

form,

modification oftheDivided Line

section'scontentbegan.

Originally,

theideawastoexplaintheDivided Line through the use

oftheexampleof ahuman.Uponre-evaluation ofthehuman_example,itseemedtooobvious

toa viewer.Due toa

familiarity

withhuman_shadows, a viewer would

likely

recognizeitmore

quickly thana shadow of an object or another animal.Asan_alternative,anexampleof an

automobilewas selected.Thisexamplecreated confusion andcompetedinimportancewith thefocusoftheexhibition

Thesolutiontothisproblem

lay

in theselection of an example whichtranscendedbothPlatonic

andcontemporaryeras.To further differentiate the twoexamples, thenatural world was

examinedtofindan exampletocontrast withtheman-made media.

Ultimately,

a birdwas

chosenas anexamplefrom thenatural world.

Are-analysisofthecomponentparts oftheDivided Lineand MediaCaveexamples coincided

withtheselection ofthebirdexample.Uponconsultation withthesiscommitteemembers, the

plantodepict "theGood"

was relinquished in favorof

depicting

theessence oftheexample.

In thecase ofthe

bird,

theessenceis

Bird-ness-,

inmedia, Media-ness. Knowledgeof an object's

essenceisrealized

during

the

/mow/'/j^

cognitivelevel.Onceessences of_manyobjects are

known,

knowledgeof"theGood"

becomespossible.Withthemodified organization ofthelevelsof

cognitioninplace,thefourparts of each example weredecided.

They

are:

Birdexample

imagining

believing

thinking

knowing

shadowsof abird

actual bird diagramofflight

Bird-ness Mediaexample

imagining

believing

thinking

knowing

sounds andimagesfromprint,

TV,

Web

mediatransmitters

(books,

magazines,

TVs,

computers, stereos)

enlargeddetailsand diagrammatic depictionsofthemedia

Media-ness

Withthefloorplanandthecontentdecided upon, thedesignoftheinteriorelementsbegan.

The diagramwhich was created

during

the initialideationprocess(seepage9)was redesigned

ina clearer and more understandableform. The diagram is incorporated into the

beginning

of

theexhibitionforthepurpose of_servingas aninitial introduction to Plato's levelsofcognition. Thereviseddiagramappearsbelow.

WorldofIdeas

Signage

Next,

thesignageforeach room was explored.Since theexhibit'smain audienceis

visually-oriented

learners,

theuse oftextwas_purposelykeptat a minimum.

Therefore,

thesignage

before enteringeach roomconsistsof_onlya

key

word and a phrase

identifying

theroom and abrief descriptionofthatparticularlevelof cognition. Explorationsoftext treatment and materialsappearbelow.

Forallrooms,opaque surfaces with engravedtext

Forthe

thinking

and

knowing

rooms,plexiglass surfaces withappliedtext

Anelementwhich appearsthroughout thewhole exhibitionisa linenotation_{representing the}

Divided Line. The linenotation_successfullyrepresentstheDivided Line.Itshowstheamount

of space which existsbetween the different levels. Thecircles alsoincreasetosymbolizean

increase intheamount of_realitya personknowswithina particular cognitivelevel.

Appearing

originally inthediagramwhich explainsthelevelsofcognitionattheentrance of

the_exhibition,thislinenotation reappearsinan enlarged version onthefloor in boththeBird

andtheMediaareas oftheexhibition.(The linenotation andtheapplicationofitwithinthe LevelsofCognition diagramandtheexhibitiondesignare shown_below.)

o-O

Plato's

levels of cognition

A

WorldofIdeas 1

CUBENESS

Divided Line _o

o

-o

A

)

Imagining Believing Thinking Knowing

<UUCB} (omects) (guunnsaino) <FOf<M.CS6ENC*)

Allegoryop theGave

:

Due to time constraints,conceptual renderings_{for only half}oftheroomsoftheexhibitiondesign

werecompletedin time forpresentation in thethesisshow exhibitionin the RIT Bevier Gallery.

Shown belowandonthe

following

twopages aretherenderings which were presented in the

thesisshow.

Belowandonthe

following

pagearerefinementsto theconceptualdrawingswhich appearon pages26and27.

Conceptual_renderingofthe

imagining

room withintheMedia Cavesection ofthefinalexhibitiondesign

Conceptual_renderingofthe

thinking

room withintheMediaCavesection ofthefinalexhibitiondesign

Evaluationoftheproject occurred_{simultaneously}withthethesisshow.Thetargetaudience

received aquestionnaire(shown below). Thequestions askedfirstgave anideaofthe

learning

preference andthe

familiarity

ofthe informationto thestudent.Thequestions addressthe particularinformationcontainedwithintheexhibition.Specificquestionsalso address

improvementsto the project,i.e.whatcouldbeaddedtotheexhibitiontoaidtheunderstanding

ofthecontent.

Questionnaire

How doyou prefertolearn? (circleallthatapply)

What isyourfieldof study?

seeing

listening

reading

doing

AreyoufamiliarwithPlato's

"Allegory

oftheCave?" no

AreyoufamiliarwithPlato's "Divided

Line?"

Doestheexhibitiondiagram"Plato's Levels

ofCognition"_clearlycommunicatethe

parallelsbetweenthe"DividedLine"

andthe

"Allegory

oftheCave?"

Ifno,whatis_confusingor unclear?

yes,I've heardofit

yes, I'vestudiedit

no

yes, I've heardofit

yes, I'vestudiedit

no,all ofit isunclear

no,somepartsare unclear

yes, it isclear

Basedonthediagramsand interiorrenderings

inthe thesis show,yourunderstandingofPlato's LevelsofCognition has:

Howsuccessfuldoyoufeel istheapplication

ofPlato's ideastomedia?

increased (I learned somethingnew). remainedthesame_{(I already knew it).}

remainedthesame(Iam stillconfused).

verysuccessful(nochanges)

somewhatsuccessful(minorchanges)

Questionnaire (continued)

Ifchangesare _needed,what arethey?

What,

ifanything,couldbeaddedto theexhibitiontoincreasea viewer'sunderstanding

ofPlato's LevelsofCognition?

If thisexhibition were_{actually created,}woulditappealtoyou?

Why

or_whynot?

Additionalcomments

Thequestionnaire wasfirst distributedto two philosophyclassestaught

by

Professor David

Suits. Thissub-section

(philosophy

students)ofthetargetaudience(college-agedstudents)

wastargeted toevaluatethe accuracyofthephilosophical content.Bothclasses studiedPlato's

LevelsofCognitioneither earlierinthequarter orina prior course.

Thequestionnairewas nextdistributedtootherRITstudents.Thegoal ofthisevaluation was

todeterminetheexhibitiondesign'seffectiveness at_{communicating}Plato'sconceptstostudents

whomight nothave_previouslystudied or mightnothave beenaware oftheexhibitiondesign's

philosophicalcontent.

Althoughclose_{to seventy}evaluation questionnaireswere

distributed,

_{only twenty-five}were

returned.Thesubsequent analysisoftheevaluationquestionnairesrevealedthe following:

Thesampledstudents prefertolearn throughacombination of_seeing,

listening,

readinganddoing.

Half thestudentshavestudiedthe

"Allegory

oftheCave"andhave heardofthe

"Divided Line."

Three-quartersofthestudents understandtheparallelsbetween_{the allegory}andthe

Divided Line. Onequarter ofthestudents understand_onlysome oftheparallels.

All thestudents understandthecontentbetterafter_viewingthediagramand

exhibitioninteriorsketches.

Three-quartersofthestudentsthink theapplication ofPlato's LevelsofCognitionto

mediaissuccessful.Onequarterthinkit issuccessful butminor changes are needed.

Whenasked what couldbeaddedto the exhibition,thestudents addressed eitherthe

exhibitiondesignorthepresentationoftheexhibitiondesign inthe thesisshow.The

addition of writtentext,such as excerptsfrom Plato'swritings,was suggested several

timesas animprovementto theexhibitiondesign. Thesisshow comments suggested

theaddition ofa scale model as well asillustrationsoftherooms which explainthe

Divided Linethrough theexample of abird.

Inonewayoranother, theexhibitiondesign interestedthestudents.Onestudent saw

theexhibition's potential as "anadditional resourcein

learning

and_{understanding}

Plato'sconcepts."

The

following

are other comments written

by

thestudents:

Iwould [gototheexhibition]sinceI'm_constantly

trying

tounderstandthe

worldthatsurroundsme,yetI find it hardtogetbeyondthebeliefstage.

Yes [theexhibitionappealstome].Ithink philosophyisusually tooabstract

formostpeople,butthisis interactivesothat thevieweris

involved,

becomes_interested, andsees_{the philosophy}in terms that heor she can

understand.Therelationshiptothingswesee and experience_{everyday is}

very important.

Viewercomments andsuggestionssuchastheinclusionof more_{explanatory text}withinthe

exhibitionandconceptual renderingsoftheBirdexample rooms werecompleted

during

further

Asmentioned_earlier,dueto_{time constraints,}severaloftheroomsdid nothaveconceptual

renderings priorto_{the opening}ofthe thesisshow.After the thesisshow,therenderings ofthe birdexamplerooms werecompleted as well asmodificationsto the

thinking

roomofthe Media Cavesection.

Explanatory

textwas addedtotheroom as well asimproved representationsand

detailsofthemedia.Theadditionstotheroom add alayerof_{understanding the}previous

renderingoftheroom lacked. (Seepage36 fortheconceptual _renderingofthe_thinkingroom

which wasdisplayed

during

the thesisshowin the Bevier

Gallery

and page48 fortherevised

conceptual_renderingofthe

thinking

room.)

Theentrance was also re-examined.

Ultimately,

a new_renderingoftheentrance was completed

after

discovering during

thecourseoftheevaluation stagethattheentrancecaused confusion.

Theproblem wastheentrance showsimages from themediabutmakes nodirectreferenceto

the media.

Also,

theimpactofthe

imagining

roomin the Media Cavesection is lessen because theviewer_{has already had}a similar experience atthe

beginning

oftheexhibition.(Seepage34 for theconceptual_renderingoftheentrance which wasdisplayed

during

thethesisshowinthe Bevier

Gallery

and belowfor therevised conceptualrenderingoftheentrance.)

Narrativeofthe

Viewing

Experience

Theviewerenterstheexhibit and descends.On thewallto theleftoftheviewerisexplanatory

textwhich provides abrief background ofPlatoand a synopsis ofPlato's

"Allegory

oftheCave" andthe"DividedLine."

Continuing

to

descend,

theviewerseesan_overhangon whichtheLevels

Turning

to the

left,

theviewerencountersanentrancetoa

dimly

litroom.Printedabove

theentranceis

"Imagining

(shadows)."

Within theroomand onthewallto theviewer's

Oppositetheshadowisaninclinewhichleads toanother room.Beforeentering the room, the

viewer reads abovetheentry,

"Believing

(objects)."

Withinthislarger butstilldarkroom,the

viewer seesanactualbird.Behindthe bird isawallwithin animageof afireon it (see below).

Atransitionoccurs withinthehall betweenthe tworooms. Marked

by

a suddenshiftfrom

blacktowhitewalls,ceilingand

floor,

the transitioncommunicatestheexitfromtheWorld ofAppearancesandtheentranceinto the WorldofIdeas. Theshiftfrom black towhiteis

symbolicofthecave prisoner's

journey

from the darknesswithinthecaveto the brightness

outsidethecave.Suspendedfrom the ceilingabovethe division between blackand white

isa plane ofplexiglasson which appearthewords"The World ofIdeas isclosertoreality

thantheWorldofAppearances."Onthefloor

immediately

belowtheplexiglass appearthe

words "WorldofAppearances"(white lettersontheblacksectionofthefloor)and"World

ofIdeas"(black lettersonthewhite section ofthefloor). (See below forarenderingofthe

Before entering thisroom,theviewerreadsabovethedoor

"Thinking

(geometry,

science)."

Within this largerand brighterroom,theviewerdiscoversscientificdiagramsanddrawings

which explainthemechanicsandaerodynamicsofflight. In frontofthe diagramsareimages

ofbirdsprinted ontoglass.Theviewerisabletolook throughtheimagesand seethe diagrams. Printed below theglasspanels_{is text explaining the}physics offlight.

us**1

fp ; *i t 1

U* 'ttttAUfBI,

\

At theend oftheroom opposite_{the entry is}yet anotherinclinewhichleads toa muchlarger

fourthroom.Theviewerreads,printedabovethe entrance,

"Knowing

(form,

essence)." The

essence ofbirdorBird-ness\scommunicated withintheroom.Composited imagesofbirds

aswell astheLatinandfamiliarnames ofbirdsproducethevisual stimuli withintheroom.

Auralstimuli isproducedintheformofbirdsongs played simultaneously.Theresultis

To therightoftheroom's_{entry is}ahallway.Symbolicof a return

journey

to thecave,the

hallway

declines into darkness. Upon entering this

hallway

theviewerfacesa wall.On thewalllies thequestion_{"How does this apply}tome?"

Like the birdexample,theviewer reads

"Imagining

(shadows)" whichisprintedabovethe

entranceto theroom attheendofthe

descending

_{hallway. Upon enteringthe room,}theviewer

sees_{images from contemporary}media

-images from

television,

magazines,

internet,

among

others(see below). Sound is incorporated into theroom's experience as well.For

instance,

coincidingwithavideo of

Hillary

Clinton,

theviewer would hear herspeak or a viewer would heara_{play-by-play commentary}while_watchinga video_clipofMichael Jordan. Whiletheviewer

To theright oftheroom's centerisa

doorway leading

toaninclined

hallway

whichtakes the

On theoppositeside oftheroom isa

hallway

whichinclinestoanotherroom.Atransitionsimilar

to the transitionwhichoccursbetween the

believing

andthe

thinking

roomsofthebirdexample

occurs_{here. The onlydifference}withinthis

hallway

istheabsenceoftheplexiglass

hanging

"from theceiling.

Before walking though theentrancetotheroom attheend ofthe

hallway,

theviewer reads

"Thinking (geometry,

sciences)."

Entering

the_room,theviewer sees it is divided intoquarters

-one-quarterforeach media

(print, digital,

television,

radio).As inthe

thinking

room in the Bird section, fourglass panelsare mounted ontothewall.Printedontotheglass are a_photograph, aWebpage,a video capture and a stereo.Theviewer sees enlargeddetailsanddiagrammatic

representationsofthemediathrough theglass panels.On thewallbeneaththeglasspanelsis text explaining howtheimagesor soundiscreated(see below). Theviewer nowisaware ofthe

tiny

dotsof_{cyan, magenta,yellow,} andblack inkswhich combinetoformanimagewithin a magazine advertisement.Theviewer seesthataWebpageiscomposedof smallsquaresof color.

Avideo_{clip is}a series oflineswhich showthecurrentimageandthenextimageon_alternating

lines. Theviewer alsoseesadiagrammaticrepresentationof sound.

^& JUam "**"'

,,**. Wax

As in thepreviousroom,an exitliesontheopposite end oftheroom.Thisexitleadstoan

inclinewhichtakestheviewerto thefourthandfinalroom ofthemedia cave example.

Again,

theviewer reads

"Knowing

(essence,

form)"

before entering theroom.Within thisroom,images from themedia are projected one on

top

of another onthe

floor,

ceilingand walls(see below). Thecompositeeffectproduces a

feeling

of mediawithout_choosinga specific media vehicle

(television, internet,

print)or a specifictopic.Sound isaddedto theexperience

by

overlaying

soundsamplesfrom televisionand radiotoproduce a static-likenon-sense sound which alludestoaural communication.Sincetheimagesareprojected, theviewerbecomes part of

theMedia-nessexperience.

Overlooking

the_{fact that society}created anddrivesthedevelopment

of media would resultinanincompleterepresentation ofMedia-ness.

Theviewerleaves theroomthrougha

doorway

to theright oftheroom's center.

Again,

theviewer

walksthroughadownward sloping hallway.The

hallway

returnstheviewerto theentrance of

Presentationpanels_{explaining the thesisproject weredisplayed intheRIT Bevier}

Gallery

from April 5 through April

21,

1999.Thesepanelsincludedan

introductory

panel which stated

the thesisstudy's objectives and synopsizedHoward Gardner's

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligences

andPlato's "Divided Line"

and

"Allegory

oftheCave."

Anexplanation ofthethesisapplication

was alsoincludedonthepanel.Alsodisplayedin the gallerywas_{the explanatory diagram} which showedtheparallelsbetween the

"Allegory

oftheCave"andthe "DividedLine."A large

floorplanoftheexhibition wasdisplayedalongsidethediagram. The floorplanshowedtheviewer

therelationships (sizeand

location)

oftheroomstooneanother.Theviewer was also ableto

read a shortdescriptionof each room oftheexhibition.

Lastly,

computer-generated renderings

offiveoftheexhibition's roomsweredisplayedonfiveseparate panels.

Accompanying

each

imagewas a smaller version ofthefloorplanwhich showedtheviewer wheretheroom was

located in theexhibition.Inordertogivetheviewer a context astowhatheor she wasseeing,

text

describing

theroom was also placed onthepanel.

Severaloptionswhich existfor future disseminationofthisthesisprojectinvolvethe

presentation ofthestudytoeducators. Oneplace a presentation mightbegivenisa conference

such astheNational Education Association'sannual event.Thegoal ofthepresentation would

betofurthertheawareness_amongeducators ofthevaluean application ofGardner's

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligencescan addtoa student's educational achievement.Teachers mightbe

more opento

implementing

theMultipleIntelligence

Theory teaching

strategies withintheir

classroomsif_theyseethestrategiesappliedtowardan example whichseemstoodifficultto visuallytranslatesuchasPlato's LevelsofCognition. Theproject might alsobe disseminated

ona smaller scale via apresentationtoaschoolboardortoauniversityboardofdirectors.

Anothermethodfor disseminationofthe thesis studywouldtarget philosophyprofessors

withthegoalof_{showing them} how_theycan addressthestrengthsand

learning

styles of all

theirstudents.

Anotherdisseminationidea istoapproachadesign firmwhichspecializesinexhibition

design.Thegoalofthis disseminationplanis toutilizethestrengths andtheexperiences

ofthe designers to further

develop

thedesignconceptstoa point of completion at whichthe

Uponcompletionofthis thesis_study,severalweaknessesbecameapparent.Themain

weaknesses occurin the designapplicationand are aresultoftimeconstraints.Although the

ideaof an exhibition surfaced_naturally

during

theimplementationstage,a greater effort should

have beenexertedon

developing

other possibledesign applicationideaswhich are more

manageablegiventhestudy's_{necessary timetable.}

Typically,

the

development,

designand

completion of anexhibitiondesign takeyears.For_example,Charlesand

Ray

Eames began in

early 1961 to

develop

theIBM Corporate Pavilion forthe 1964 New York World's Fair.

Timeconstraintsalsohindered thepresentation ofthedesignapplication inthe thesisshow.

Originally,

a model oftheexhibition wasto_{be built to accompany}the presentationboardsin the RIT Bevier

Gallery

MFA Thesis Show. Membersofthe targetaudiencementioned adesire tosee

ascale model oftheexhibitiondesign in the thesisshow.

Again,

timerestraintsdid not allow

theconstruction of a model.A model wouldhave beenusefulfora number ofreasons,chief

of whichis theaddedlevelof comprehension a model provides.Viewersofthemodel couldsee

size relationships

(height,

width,depth)oftherooms as well astheelevation changesfromone

roomtoanother.The diagrammatic floorplanoftheexhibitiondesignwhichappeared on one

ofthepresentationboards didcommunicatethismaterial,butsome viewers mighthave lacked

thespatial_{ability to mentally transform the}written andtwo-dimensionalvisualformat into

athree-dimensionalform.

The designofanexhibitionrequires_{many diverse}skillsnecessaryforthedevelopmentand

completionof adesignconcept.Exhibition designteams_relyonthecollaboration ofarchitects,

interior_designers, productionartists,graphicdesignersand_{administrators, among}others.

Basedon individualskills andstrengths, teammembersfocustheirenergies on particular

aspects of an exhibition

during

its development. Thegraphicdesignermight work alongside thearchitect orinterior designer

during

theinitial floorplandevelopment,butthearchitect

orinterior designerwouldbeprimarilyresponsibleforoverseeing thedetails forthatparticular

aspect oftheexhibition.

Inspite oftheaforementionedweaknesses,the thesisprojectisa success.The design

applicationachievedthegoal ofvisuallytranslatingPlato's LevelsofCognition for

visually-orientedcollege-agestudents. Italso succeededingaining theinterest inthematerial

by

the targetaudience.Almosteverystudent who evaluatedthe thesisapplicationwrote

they

would

be interestedinthisexhibition. Mostofthestudents remarkedtheirinterest in Plato's levels

of cognition was a result oftheapplication ofPlato'stheories

during

theanalysis of

This thesis projectfocusedon a particular sub-set oflearners- _{visually-oriented}learners.

Itexaminedtheeducational needsofthistypeoflearnerand

by

what meansthelearnercan

bestaccess abstractwritten material.Through theexamination of possiblecommunication

formats

(book,

poster,

diagram,

among others),exhibitiondesignwas selected.Exhibition design

possessed advantagestheotherforms didnot,suchas_{the ability}tocreatean environment inwhichthewrittenformofthecontentassumes a physicality.

Also,

thecombinationof several

methods(diagramsplus viewer participation plus photographs_amongothers)becomesan

option within an exhibitiondesignsolution.

Theresultant exploration of an exhibitiondesignwhichcommunicatesPlato's LevelsofCognition

andthenappliesitto_{contemporarysociety}proved successful.The targetaudiencealso was

attractedtotheapplication ofPlatonictheories

during

theanalysisof media.

Theexhibitiondesignalso showedtheeffectiveness of visual

teaching

strategies.Teachers

can usethis thesis_studyas an examplefor how

they

can utilize visual

teaching

strategies

intheirclassroom.Forexample,content canbe diagrammedto visuallyshow relationships

whichmight notbeas accessible intheiroriginalwrittenform. Throughtheuse of visual

metaphors,educators can also comparethe new contenttoconcepts or examplesthestudents

alreadyunderstand.

Plato'sphilosophers(theprisoners wholeftthecaveand returned)possess anability toshare

theknowledge

they

received outsidethecave.

They

havea social_{responsibility}which_theymust

acceptandfulfill. Analogousto the philosophers,graphicdesignersalso possessthe ability to

educate society.Thisthesis studysupportsthepremisethatgraphicdesigncanenhance an

believing

exhibitiondesign Form The Good

imagining

knowing

learning

style Plato Socrates spatialintelligence thinking visual metaphors

WorldofAppearances

WorldofIdeas

thestateof cognitioninwhich physical objects areunderstood;

correct morals and values are_onlyrecognized and notsupported

the3-Dpresentation ofinformationor objectsforpublicview

unseenidealsor patterns which exist outside and independent

ofthemind,but knowable

by

themind

theprimal Form throughwhich anindividualcanknowmorality

and_reality

thestate of cognitioninwhichimagesand morals are accepted

blindly

without question orjudgment

thestate of cognitioninwhichtheessence of an objectis

known;

once manyessencesare

known,

an inductive thoughtprocesssearches

fortheoriginalFormorTheGood

a_wayofprocessingnewand previous perceptions

428B.C.-347

B.C.;

_philosopher;

Socrates'

student;

wrote TheRepublic

470 B.C.- 399

B.C.;

philosopherwholaidthefoundations

ofWesternculture;Plato'steacher

the ability toperceivetheworldaccuratelyandtorepresentthe

spatialworld

internally

inthemind

thelevelofcognitionwhich marksthe transitionfroma representable

world of concrete objectstoan abstract world ofthoughtand

Forms-,

thelevelof cognitioninwhichoccursdeductive logicas seenin

geometryandthephysicalsciences

a symbolicimageusedtocompareanunfamiliarconcepttoa

familiarconcept

theworldinwhichthe

imagining

and

believing

statesof cognition

occur; theworld of concreteimagesand objects

theworld inwhichthethinkingand

knowing

levelsof cognitionoccur;

Albrecht, Donald,

ed. The WorkofCharlesand

Ray

Fames-. A

Legacy

ofInnovation.

New York:

Harry

N.

Abrams,

Inc.,

1997.

Appignanesi,

RichardandChris Garret.

Introducing

Post-Modernism.

New York: Totem

Books,

1995.

Armstrong,

Thomas.MultipleIntelligencesin the Classroom.

Alexandria: AssociationforSupervisionandCurriculum

Development,

1994.

"Behaviour,

Animal."

The NewEncyclopediaBritannica: MacropediaKnowledgein Depth.

V. 14. 15thed.Chicago: Encyclopedia

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Inc.,

1998. 744- 828.

Gardner,

Howard. FramesofMind: The

Theory

ofMultiple Intelligences.

New York: Basic

Books,

1983.

Hiebert,

Kenneth J. Graphic Design Sources.

London: Yale

University

Press,

1998.

Hopps,

WalterandSusan Davidson. Robert Rauschenberg: A Retrospective.

New York: The Solomon R. Guggenheim

Foundation,

1997.

Jacobus,

Lee

A.,

ed."The

Allegory

oftheCave."Trans. Benjamin Jowett. A WorldofIdeas:

Essential Readings for College Writers. 3rded.Boston: Bedford

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Kirkham,

Pat.Charlesand

Ray

Eames-. Designersofthe20th Century.

Cambridge: MIT

Press,

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"Mechanics:

Energy, Forces,

andTheirEffects."

The New EncyclopediaBritannica.-_Macropedia

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Morrison, Philip,

Phylis MorrisonandThe OfficeofCharlesand

Ray

Eames.

PowersofTen-. A BookabouttheRelative SizeofThings intheUniverse

andtheEffectof

Adding

Another Zero.New York: Scientific American

Books,

1982.

Picture Math.

St Paul: Trend

Enterprises,

1997.

The PhysicsofFlight.

"Plato."

The New Encyclopedia Britannica: Macropedia Knowledge in Depth. V. 25. 15thed.Chicago: Encyclopedia

Britannica, Inc.,

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-907.

Plato. The RepublicofPlato. Trans. Francis MacDonald Cornford. New York: Oxford

University

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1945.

"Socrates."

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1998. 436- 40.

Taylor,

Richard. Metaphysics. Fourth Edition. Englewood Cliffs:Prentice

Hall,

1963.

Tufte,

EdwardR.

Envisioning

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1990.

Weinberg,

Jeshajahuand Rini Elieli. The Holocaust Museum in Washington. New York:

Rizzoli,

1995.

Wurman,

Richard Saul. Information Architects. Zurich: Graphis Press

Corp,

1996.

Wurman,Richard Saul. Medical Access. LosAngeles:Access Press

Ltd.,

1985.

Title

Typeofinformation

Tocommunicate ...

CommunicationVehicle

Color

Photography

Illustration

ImageorText Dominant

Language Use

Sequencing

Interaction

Money

Machine: Iraqi Diversion Business

how

Iraq

wasableto

buy

weapons

Diagram

4cprocess

usedsymbolically

n/a

technicalill.

contour

drawing

image

heads:phrase

copy:_keywords,sentences

numberedphases

Title

Typeofinformation

Tocommunicate ...

Communication Vehicle

Color

Photography

Illustration

ImageorText Dominant

Language Use

Sequencing

Interaction

HowanAircraft Carrier Works

Military

howanaircraftcarrierworks

Diagram

Map

4cprocess

used_symbolicallyandtocode

n/a

technicalill.

contour

drawing

image

heads:phrases

sub-heads:

keywords,

phrases

copy:sentences

numbered phases

color_coding

Photography

fullcolor

Illustration n/a

ImageorText Dominant image

Language Use sentences

Sequencing

size changes

^Wsum,! ^jW. -UII=*ma

^,-luI.kumm:rw;r1Tisy t>: ftwai

'Jut A> =

'""##=

'

Title The First Six BooksoftheElementsofEuclid

Typeofinformation Math

Tocommunicate... a geometric proof

Communication Vehicle Diagram

Color 4cspot

usedsymbolically

Photography

n/a

Illustration technical illustration

ImageorText Dominant image

Language Use copy: sentences

Sequencing

logic

Title

Typeofinformation

Tocommunicate...

Communication Vehicle

Color

Photography

Illustration

ImageorText Dominant

Language Use

Sequencing

Interaction

Picture Math

Math

adding, subtracting

Drawing

Participation

4cprocess

used_playfully

n/a

cartoon

contour

drawing

image

head: keywords

subheads: phrases

copy:sentences

building

uponskills

draw

-"-. ..-HiiU

.-.'.HE.---:

-b

1

.._.:_..--'

;-'-!-!.3>J">: --..

---...-..'. riRiJktr-j-'-"" ',TI IBB-1Jb!-T- -1

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