"The Tale of Bodies, Souls and Machines" (text by Marcin Gokieli)
– A Book for Two # 1
(2010)



"A Book for Two" is the book which should be read in pairs with each reader following the thread of his narrative.

Reading is an intimate act; it excludes other people, real time and space. Through reading each individual participates in the creation of meanings, depending on his or her competencies. Reader's walk through the text, whether it is wandering with the skipping and returns, giving ups and withdrawals or it is a firmly stepping towards the end, also builds the text. In these individual journeys, the meanings and personal interpretations that are not subjected to the control of the author's authority or privileged readers are being established.

However, collective reading or reading in the public disclaims discretion. There is nothing more indiscreet, says Barthes, than to see someone reading with their lips moving seamlessly.

These two modalities were combined in a book for two, creating a particular tension. Lonely readers would have to respect the mutual rhythms, turn the page together, and establish equal reading rhythm. Are they going to be able not to look at their partner, not to peek at his page, not to cheat? Are they going to establish an open interaction, exchange experiences, turn individual reading into a shared adventure?

"The Tale of Bodies, Souls and Machines" is an unusual story about the duality of body and soul, whose narrative structure is divided in two parallel series, which merge and split again with different endings. Readers' decision is crucial in designing the text. Such a changeable situation, known since Cortasar wrote "Hopscotch" and Pavic “Dictionary of the Khazars", encouraged post-modern reluctance of linearity, and radicalized fragmentation and complexity of hypertext.

– Irena Bekic

* Marcin Gokieli, author of the tale
Graduated in philosophy at the Warsaw University (MA dissertation on Alasdair MacIntyre's virtue theory) in 1999. Expects to obtain his PhD at the same institution (dissertation on semantics and metaphysics in the Language of Thought theory).
He is working and publishing philosophical papers on meaning theory, cognitive psychology, naturalistic approach to the mind, modality, and the ethical theory.



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