“I am the limitless sky.”: Beyond the Ocularcentrism

Abstract

           This research paper aims to answer the question: how can we position our relationship with the world in such a way that it is not dependent on an ocularcentric way of thinking? To answer this question, this paper will engage with a number of texts to help in the discussion. There is a sharp distinction between a western approach to thought that emphasizes the use of the eyes and vision and alternative, critical approaches that emphasize the holistic use of all the senses. While a number of anthropologists have criticized ocularcentrism, they nonetheless continue to separate and divide the senses, some focusing on the sense of touch instead of vision; but in Tim Ingold's view, who is influenced by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the senses of human beings are holistic. Senses can not be separated into parts. This approach includes a contemporary architecture theory known as "atmospheric studies," which points out that human perception of the world requires being-in-the-world in a way that the atmosphere and humans are not separated from each other. In the late 20th century, the idea of synesthesia was proposed as a solution. But from the author’s point of view, the conceptof synesthesia still does not offer a solution to the dilemma of overcoming ocularcentrism.