What does this mean?

model

http://img473.imageshack.us/img473/8106/eh9ir.jpg

I was shown this and was told it is part of philosophy, but what exactly does it mean? Any links or information would be greatly appreciated.

hotspur

Well it's a tangent anyway, maybe it is someone pointing out that philosophy is tangential to the real world (the circle)?

Bodhidharma

Its a circle with a line on it.

Could also be a see saw, representing the balance in the universe.

judomick

my thought was that it represents lines of thinking, some who think in a forward open minded manner, and those that think in an closed mind circular(locked) but the two types of thinking will at some point always converge

master master

Well, maybe it's philosophy because Descartes did a lot of work with tangents to curves and therefore circles. http://www.student.liu.se/~bjoch509/philosophers/intros/des-intro.html

pisslips

Complete speculation is enjoyable:
Maybe It's something to do with having only one axiom(some kind of circular totology) on which one random path of knowledge has grown with only one actual point of contact with the real world.One logical(straight-line path) since all knowledge is a consequence of the knowledge on which it's founded, we grow further from the truth despite learning more.

However we could be yet to intersect with truth but will never be certain that it is truth since we are part of the representation and are unable to gain perspective since we only have experience of one existence.

It's similar to rubing shamrook on the map of Ireland and getting the shamrock to grow in the outline of the shape of Ireland

muesli_offire

First I thought it was the letter 'a' at an angle.

Then I thought it was a lower case 'd'.

Then a 'p'.

Then i realized it was a circle with a line touching it.