Abstract
In his Theoretical Biology, Jakob Johann von Uexküll proposed a theory of Umwelt, suggesting that organisms can experience the world only subjectively, as their perceptions are shaped by the unique qualities of their physiological makeup. I extend Uexküll’s observations to argue that in humans, Umwelt obtains a qualitative multiplication as stimuli get filtered both through their sensory-motor systems and neurally encoded symbolic memories or “engrams.” A conglomeration of engrams, shaped by cultural, social, and individual experiences, gives rise to identities/symbolic Umwelten—e.g., seeing the world as a woman, a musician, a Native, or a Muslim. What interests me is how the desire for symbolic self-preservation operates under physiological mechanisms similar to those driving biological survival. Because the brain does not automatically distinguish between “reality” and “simulation,” our bodies react as if our biological selves are in danger even when our symbolic lives are under threat. Biology, thus, tricks us into believing that our being is identical to our symbolic Umwelten. A radical expression of this dynamic is necropolitics—the belief that symbolic survival requires eliminating others (e.g., the Israel-Gaza conflict or the destruction of Indigenous peoples). While symbolic identification is vital for navigating political and everyday lives, I propose a “politics of noncoincidence,” an approach that does not reject symbolic Umwelten but seeks to decouple existence from the need to fully embody socially prescribed identities. By loosening rigid attachments to symbolic selves, we can acknowledge the multiplicity of human experiences and foster different modes of cohabitation without resorting to violence.
Presenters
Jovana IsevskiStudent, PhD, University of California, Riverside, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
SYMBOLIC UMWELTEN, ENGRAMS, NECROPOLITICS, POLITICS OF NON-COINCIDENCE
