Mimesis and alterity
Book Description
In this profound exploration of human consciousness and cultural formation, anthropologist Michael T. Taussig examines two fundamental forces that shape our understanding of reality: mimesis, the human capacity for imitation, and alterity, our experience of otherness and difference.
Taussig presents mimesis not merely as copying or reproduction, but as the very mechanism through which culture creates what he calls "second nature." This mimetic faculty carries within it a complex history deeply intertwined with colonial encounters, where the civilized and the savage, the self and the other, became entangled in webs of representation and power.
Drawing from anthropological fieldwork, colonial histories, and the philosophical insights of Walter Benjamin and the Frankfurt School, Taussig traces an unconventional path through time. He moves from nineteenth-century technological innovations like photography, backward to colonial first encounters and indigenous peoples' alleged mimetic abilities, then forward to our contemporary moment where the boundaries between self and other grow increasingly fluid.
The work challenges readers to confront essential questions about the nature of reality itself. How do we understand that our most cherished traditions are constructed, yet experience them as completely natural? What does it mean to recognize that social life is both genuinely real and simultaneously fabricated?
For those seeking deeper understanding of consciousness, identity, and the forces that shape human experience, this rigorous yet accessible work offers transformative insights into how we create meaning in a postmodern world.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
🕉️ Tradition: Anthropology & Spirituality
📄 Length: 299 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore SOCIAL SCIENCE
- ✓ Understand psychological principles
- ✓ Explore Kulturphilosophie
- ✓ Explore Cultural
- ✓ Explore Representatie (algemeen)
- ✓ Explore timeless philosophical wisdom
- ✓ Explore Études transculturelles
- ✓ Explore Differentiefilosofie
