Universalism as Utopia

Abstract

On the basis of a case study - the utopia of a Universal Network of Documentation as conceived by the bibliographer and internationalist Paul Otlet (Brussels 1868-Brussels 1944) - this paper focuses on the spatial contradiction inherent in the claim of the universality of scientifi c knowledge which was common in the beginning of the twentieth century. Through an analysis of the spatial schemas drawn by Otlet in which he envisions a new system for the dissemination and organization of knowledge, this article aims to show the complex spatial nature of the epistemological claim of universalism in his time, which in current localist views on science tends to be excessively simplified.