van Dijck J
Universiteit Maastricht, Facultiet der Cultuurwetenschappen, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Gewina. 2000;23(2):91-106.
When x-ray, in the early 1900s, was hailed as the new instrument of objective verification and indisputable proof, it signaled the reign of the visual over the other senses of empirical verification, such as sound and touch. The extent of visual evidence was believed to be all- encompassing: x-rays were supposedly a sort of super photography that could prove the existence of immaterial substances, the materiality of things heretofore unseen. Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain (1924) elaborates on three invisible aspects of the body: the verification of disease (tuberculosis), the visualization of intimate feelings such as love, and the ultimate proof of the spirtual self after death. In all three areas - medical, psychological and metaphysical - the x-ray was thought to be a magical instrument that could render the body (and soul) transparent. The Magic Mountain does not simply reflect these beliefs, but problematizes cultural conceptions inspired by medical-scientific axiomas.
20世纪初，当X射线被誉为客观验证和无可争议的证据的新工具时，它标志着视觉在声音和触觉等其他经验验证感官之上占据主导地位。视觉证据的范围被认为是无所不包的：X射线据说是一种超级摄影技术，能够证明无形物质的存在，以及此前未见之物的物质性。托马斯·曼的《魔山》（1924年）详细阐述了身体的三个无形方面：疾病（肺结核）的验证、爱情等亲密情感的可视化，以及死后精神自我的最终证明。在医学、心理和形而上学这三个领域，X射线都被视为一种神奇的工具，能够使身体（和灵魂）变得透明。《魔山》并非简单地反映这些观念，而是对受医学科学公理启发的文化观念提出了质疑。
