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Scenes of writing: Beckett and the technology of inscription

Paul Sheehan*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Writing as a form of information technology has historically inspired suspicion, mistrust and downright hostility. This essay considers the recent (re)conception of writing as a cognitive artefact, assisting in the mind's extension into the world. The discussion focuses on two of Beckett's 'writing-oriented' novels, Malone dies and How It Is, and applies the Extended Mind (EM) thesis to the most revealing and forcible episodes of inscription in each work. Although Beckett abjures the benefits that cognitive extension can bring, reading these two novels in this light can elucidate both the potential applications and the pressure-points of the EM thesis.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)138-149
    Number of pages12
    JournalSamuel Beckett Today - Aujourd'hui
    Volume29
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017

    Keywords

    • Extended Mind
    • Extortion
    • Kafka
    • Modernism
    • Selfhood
    • Writing

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