Towards an Epistemology of Reading: Defining the Process of Reading in Modern Terms

The chaotic space caused by information explosion in present times has made the process and purpose of reading to be always questioned. Technological advancement has made reading appear as a mere mockery at the very outset. But the world still prioritizes knowledge that is acquired through observation, valuation and interpretation. At the time of Big Data, there still persists a sense of agency to define a given information as episteme. The present essay emphasizes on looking at reading as a modern phenomenon by presupposing the epistemological presence at the centre of any rational pursuit. Based on the Kantian precepts on enlightenment, the paper attempts to understand this presence of knowledge by delving into the major disciplines of modern philosophy that help in observing, valuing and interpreting the act of reading in present times. More than laying terms for defining the text within the modern space, the study essentializes reading in a virtually driven algorithmic world.