willil8+Comments+Week+1+090607

I always tend to think of concepts visually, or as stories, it helps me to remember better. And so, this is how I remember what our fearless leader calls the "topology of a donut" and Derrida describes as the center being located on the outside.

The mathematical concept of a Moebius strip represents the singularly dual nature of "Structuralism and Empiricism" according to Derrida's comments in "Structure Sign and Play..." Really, it is useful in visualizing any kind of philosophical structure and its corresponding critique.

From far away, the moebius strip is a simple loop. However, on closer examination, you will see that it has only one surface, and one edge, though it is obviously a three dimensional object...how is this possible? The key is that it turns in on itself. If you were to walk on a moebius strip, you would start right-side-up and at some point be upside-down and then back to right-side-up again. You have traced a path on a surface that is singular, but of dual nature, up and down. Similarly, structuralism and empiricism are two methods of acquiring knowledge and defining meaning. One could not exist without the other in juxtaposition, together they form a Moebius strip of critical inquiry.

Also, as the definition of [|Moebius strip on Wikipedia] states, "the edge of of a Mobius strip has the topology of a circle". [|Wikipedia's definition of a circle], is a closed loop dividing the inside from the outside, or the exterior from the interior. The center of a moebius strip, is harder to visualize than for a simple circle. Because of the right-side-up-side-down nature of the moebius strip, it is not possible for there to be a center point that is equidistant from all points on the surface (as in the case of another three-dimensional object, the sphere). However, an appropriate slice through the moebius strip will find a 2-D circle and its corresponding center equidistant from all points on the circle. In the special case of the Sudanese Mobius band, this center is actually on the outside...