On Exactitude In Science Analysis

The modernist revolution that accompanied the transition of the 19th century to the 20th century coincided with an array of scientific, sociological, and ideological shifts. These deviations from the realist era of the prior century allowed for abstract and surreal literary works that challenged rationale to flourish, which in no small part influenced the shifting of societal norms. The works “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” and “On Exactitude in Science” by Jorge Borges epitomize the modernist shift by confronting the drastic scientific changes occurring during his time through surrealistic interpretations of reality and by raising different epistemological questions and the ethics of exploring the untamed recesses of science. During the time in which Borges entered the literary scene, a variety of reality-altering and mind-shattering scientific principles were becoming mainstream, leading many to question the very nature of the world in which they lived. Borges expanded on this abundance of confusion by subtly discussing idealism and the nature of reality in both “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” and “On Exactitude in Science”. “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” does this perhaps most subtly, where it is revealed at the end of the story that Tlön and Uqbar are fictitious places created by the secret society Orbis Tertius. Despite the land being fabricated, the influences of Tlön are still found in the real world through the, “dissemination of objects from Tlön over different countries” (Borges, “On Exactitude in Science.” 30). By the Orbis Tertius placing fake artifacts from this fictitious land strategically throughout the world to be discovered, the society was able to “create” a reality by manipulating the minds of people. On a similar note, Borges’s story “On Exactitude in Science” also expands on the fragility of reality in which a map is made that is so large, and so detailed, that it enveloped the very empire it was supposed to model. Being so precise, the map eventually became a simulation of the original empire and its residents descended into the hyperreal, unable …show more content…
As its name implies, “On Exactitude in Science” addresses the depth at which science is willing to delve into the unknown by using the map encompassing the empire, and ultimately falling to ruins, as a metaphor to hyperreality masking and corrupting reality (Borges, “On Exactitude in Science.”). The chaotic and probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics, the warping of spacetime theorized in relativity, etc.; Borges proposes that these abstract concepts are perverting the concept and perception of reality into a simulacrum. However, Borges tackles the issue of the enigmatic nature of modern science from a completely different perspective in “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, in which he primarily uses the philosophy of idealism and solipsism to portray the idea that it is impossible to prove the validity of modern scientific principles. By making Berkeley idealism and solipsism the primary logical conventions in Tlön, he alludes to the possibility that the reality of modern science, and science in general, exists as a derivation of cerebral phenomena. Borges states that, “This monism or complete idealism invalidates all science” (Borges, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius.” 23), and alludes to this philosophy throughout the narration of Tlön. While both stories clearly show skepticism toward modern scientific principles, each story alludes to the possible invalidity of the theories by utilizing contrasting philosophical principles – the dangers of contorting reality in “On Exactitude in Science”, and reality being a completely idealistic anomaly in “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis