Socrates in the Labyrinth

Created with the Storyspace software, "Socrates in the Labyrinth is a wide-ranging exploration of the relationships between hypertext, thought, and argument. Does hypertext present alternatives to the logical structures of if-then, claim and support? Is hypertext a mere expository tool, that cannot alter the essence of discussion and proof? Or is hypertext essentially unsuited to rigorous argument?

Kolb's discussion is a nuanced, creative approach to these and other questions. Kolb points up the history of nonlinearity in philosophical work, from the Socratic dialogues through Hegel, and the variety of forms that philosophical discussion can take. Kolb's discussion -- and the structures of Socrates itself -- show that hypertext is not only a 'super-encyclopedia' that leaves the essence of argument unchanged. But his keen understanding of both hypertext and postmodernism also shows that the relation between hypertext and 'the end of the text' is more complex than is sometimes claimed. Socrates in the Labyrinth embodies several hypertext structures showing possibilities for writing and thought in the new medium.

Socrates in the Labyrinth is one of the first works of hypertext non-fiction to examine and exploit the techniques of hypertext rhetoric discovered in the development of serious hypertext fiction." -- From Eastgate Systems, Inc.

4 COPIES IN THE NEXT

The Richard Holeton Collection

Published in 1994 by Eastgate Systems, Inc..

This copy contains a floppy disk in the original folio. This copy was given to the Electronic Literature Lab by Richard Holeton in Spring 2019.

PUBLICATION TYPE

E-lit Object

The Rob Swigart Collection

Published in 1994 by the creator.

Copy for Macintosh. Rob Swigart gave the materials for this work to Dene Grigar in July of 2022.

PUBLICATION TYPE

E-lit Object

COPY MEDIA FORMAT

File(s)

The David Kolb Collection

An unpublished copy.

This copy includes application files for both StorySpace and Tinderbox, as well as project files. These files are not made available on The NEXT due to copyright. David Kolb gave the files for this copy to Dene Grigar in 2022.

COPY MEDIA FORMAT

File(s)

The N. Katherine Hayles Collection

Published in 1994 by Eastgate Systems, Inc..

This copy was given to the Electronic Literature Lab by Dr. N. Katherine Hayles in December of 2017.

PUBLICATION TYPE

E-lit Object

COPY MEDIA FORMAT

3.5-inch Floppy