English |
VUNW: Virtuality |
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English |
VUNW: Virtuality |
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The concept virtuality is used here in the sense of the totality of human concept formation. Since the end of the 20th century this is used especially in the context of the internet. Its beginning is to be found amongst the first images, language-signs, languages and works of art.
In the course of millions of years the formation of concepts and their distribution have again and again effected shifts in the acquisition of knowledge. The real revolution came about through the introduction of signs, writing, languages, new forms of interpretation, education, printing, new media (radio, film, TV) and now because of the internet. Because of this the character of virtuality did not change during the millennia of literacy, however, the distribution has – by the formation of an ever broader public. What has changed with this broadening (general education in schools, public etc) and with the increase of the importance of the innovation are the possibilities to take part and the type of value formation within the frame of productions.
Buildings, streets, harbours, air ports etc. can easily be seen as structural elements. It seems to be more difficult to recognize virtual structures, which are associated with places (research institutes, universities, schools, news papers, theatres, museums etc.) but which are not themselves material. What happens in these places of knowledge does not remain the same (e.g. the content and form of teaching of the university of Vienna since 1365 or the activities of the deputies in the town hall of Gyor since 1898).
Life in and between these places is not arbitrary. It is determined by concepts, rules, laws – by virtual structures. The way in which these concepts originate, are distributed, become obligatory, differs. In the course of the centuries, one can observe the following:
Increase in the quantity of virtualities
Broadening of education (general schooling, mass access to schools and universities)
Differentiation (work distribution) and cooperation (inter- and transdisciplinarity)
Rapid growth of the production of concepts (science, research, arts, administration, media etc.)
New values added by knowledge in all spheres of production
- Necessity of social concept formations (always also to overcome injustices)
In this context it becomes a necessity of every infrastructure politics, to recognize structures of virtuality; connections, to make proposals for developments publicly, to create forms of cooperation, to allow democratic discussions. In this moment this is the most important tendency of a development of the traditional infrastructures, however contradictory this development may be. Without recognition of the essential importance and a renewal of the virtual structures according to current demands, successes in other areas can be achieved only marginally.