Abstract

TETRAD, OR THE FOURFOLD PATTERN OF CULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS S u m m a r y This paper seeks to discuss the tetradic structure of cultural transformations effected by human artifacts. It was Marshall McLuhan’s main idea to think of our historical changes in terms of various modes of communication. Each mode introduces a new form of human interaction. The spoken word produced coherent communities. The written word caused fragmentation. McLuhan believed that electronic artifacts would restore the lost integrity. His tetradic structure of cultural changes was inspired by Gestalt psychology with its key pair: figure—ground. McLuhan thought that humanity is resonating within this two elements evolving from the culture of the written word to the culture of the spoken word. Eventually, we shall found ourselves in the acoustic space.