THE AFFECT THEORY READER Edited by Melissa Gregg and Gregory J. Sigworth DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS Durham & London 2108 AFTER AFFECT Spmpatt, Synchrony ‘and Mietic Commuricaton Ann Gis ‘Contagion is everywhere in the contemporary wold Ie eaps ‘om body to body, sweeping through mediasize popaltons stthespedofabusire Nolonger confinad toloctoutbreals of infectious disease or even of yer, contagion epidemics ‘ow patel occuron a globalscaleandthanksto electronic medi, with increible rp Consume economies aera, rey on contagion fr evry functioning connecting peopl, mney, goods resources ideas, and belts in global ows of ‘ommuniation and exchange n ways that fundamental ales ‘ations in the proces. Thi cll for anew understanding of ‘what I term “mimetic communication” By “mimetic com munication” or mimesis, mean in the fist instance, the cr porealy bated frms of imitation both voluntary and nwo: ‘ry (and on which erry representation ultimately depend). At thet mos pitti, these invoie the visceral ee fae, ‘contagion, the “sychrony of aa expressions, vocalizations, Dostures and movements with those of anther person! pro: ‘ucing tendency for tow involved "to cornergeemotionlly” (Gaeld, Caioppo and Rapson1994 3). ‘This exay eramines several phenomena (sympathy, sya Meet 7 ony, a te vaio fas of mimicry ed itso might nasse- ‘able under the broad sng of mimesis) and argues that topther these vide astting point for theorising mimetic communication Atte ia ‘hs isthe tension besneeshomanis aed noahuranist forms of thought, ‘twee those who argue forthe neces of understanding formations of ‘he vubjest and those for whee thinking ia practice hat should een us beyond he known forms ofthe subject. Mimass is ater ke an age in hich gure and ground can vay be revered 0 that sometimes subj Thy isin focus, whe a ther time itecedes nt the buckground, ving something eto appear is place. Rather than privileging oneview over tothe the task of theory may ther be to know through which optic its ‘nox proutvetolookst any ven moment. O-—perhaps more diilt— toleaen how to oxi beeen there views, ater of which ean imply be bearded How might we, den, learn t thik across the plurality of do ‘ain in which we ae (and nee tobe) organaed as abject but in which te very proces of subjectivaion slo produce potentials that may open — vpupected posites for new way of thinking beng, and acting? "Mimeticcommanistion can be cpncived asan example of ychrony as pervasive "sharing of form that sems tobe “te fndamentl comma ‘atonal principle rung through ll eves of behaviour” though both mans anal bos, ed connected o other hytmicproceses inthe tural world (Condon 196,57. But it might equally be conceived a « | contagions proces that ake place tansrerallyscoss topology conse ing herogencous networks of media snd convertion, statements and mages and bodies and things. Thete mimetic connections ae a esl of contagious procestes in which afc plays a central part. Or at ast thi Ube aspect of act wth whish the humanities and cultural studs bare | ety been concerned in ree yeas. Hereit takes ona broadly Spinora Dekvsan sens, emerging a8 an subjective fone ina perspective fom ich the ham sppeacs as an envelope of posses rather Un th Frnt totliy or esence represented by the hea ofthe individual organism. ‘This edhe view from which Bran Massumi can describe afc tan ene= pete dimension oc “pact” and emotion a elective atvation or ex Premion of ae fom "vital co-presnce” of poten on the basi of nemo, expeteacs, thought and habit (Masur 2005). What this wiew Teves the highly ferent work performed by the “agora” oF "ictete? iets opened by the work ofthe American psychologist Svan © mks, Tombs dives his viw ofthe fects a inate nage pat Groma8 Anna ie ‘arin geal observations a The Exprenion wf the Enwtons a Mn sd Animate Although Tomlin’ work as been pat to serous use by both Bre Kosky Sedgwick and Adam Frank, who intoduced it to euturat studs in 95, remain relatively ite taken up in the United States and virtually unkown in Bore, although thas generated an exci and het ‘opineous fl of thought in Australia! ‘oth way of eonetiag affect understand its intrictty involved in the ‘human stones tem and engaging an energetic dimension that impels, orinhibits the bodys capaci for action, But, while fet inthe Deewzan ‘sensi asujetive and ant-repreeiationl,dperatingacrss the boundary ‘etween the orga and che nonorgani, Tomlin alet theory enables the specication ofthe energie dimension of eft in very predse ways It proves us with iferentised account of te neuraogia, physiological, snd expressive profes afeach ofthe nine affects recognizes allowing finer Aistintions thin the trations paychoanlytic concentration on the de- rcs of rouse ofanety and aggression It delineates an affect dynamics ‘hat species which fects ar ely t be cae p in response to which others and why, and systems-orinted, noteeoogicl way of thinking ‘human development a aeive response are paterned—or organized—by going process of sxipt formation. Altough these two road ways of conceiving sfc dbs bein ou very dierent philosophical asamp tions, they are both eteatil tsems 0 me inthe overarching inlets project of rethinking the hamin in the wake of a sustained critique of ‘Wester ational ‘Beyond thes two major act theories thers widespread disagreement both Betireen nd witha the vious icpines that kim a take in aflac— pryhology, the neurosciences, bilogy,seilogy, cultural stds antho- ology and eo forth~-about whether conerveof lect asinate or socially Const, how to formulate its relationship with ogaiton, odin, and fecting, and what thee sorts of decisions might ental theoretically end pole. There are vous rik ine ntrdiplinary approach o affect, ‘Bory, which must contend wit the sheer mass of though about it, end ‘vith incomamessurssiesbeweun and even within disciplines. Thus, what ppeas 3 these object ftom one opti othe next fen not andthe ‘conviction that atend sens of discover continual isolvesinte doubt Mimi a8 much contented as feet. Mimic communication in the ‘oqatve scenes names an ensemble of mode ina herarchy of sopbisice- ‘ion: mimic emulation, tation, and mimesis. Distinguishing berwen ‘them i important, spec in he empirically Baad cognitive scenes lc need to specif exacly what they mean to accede to the sardads of sound experimental desgo, and in ehology, where, by vite of doing 4 ‘rious anal and human capaties can be compared But too often these deacons become one more expression of a certain Plstoncally derived ‘Westen abivlence about mimes as form of eopyiag giving is only © ‘he fake rth second ste and which therefore wants ose mimesis seal the preserve of ilies, “primitne’ peoples, ad animals Forex “le none of seve important decssons of mimesis, Theodor Ador refs toitas at once prt of “biologi preisor” and at “he rpreied of ‘he lightenment” (Horkeier and Adorno cit In Potoity 2006 143). Inpartbecssz of his want to argue that these distinctions maybeless imporant han what tex various modes of mimesshavein common, since Metin powerful vctorinell ofthem snd taken together andconsideredas "phenomenon pin fom pilosophical prude they may open the wayto ‘new “epidemiology of ale” that aes coninstis between things tht ‘ete once ld to be discrete, and discontnsty and difeence where once there wae samenes (Gibbs 2001- Ulieaty his may alo fata a e- thinking ef thecesofmimesisand th practices sociated with hem devel ped in non Westen cultses nd eee to by Wevsern anthropologists “nig” a concept that Adorno fres, may have fr greater purcasein cotaniporary Western societies than is usualy relied (Horkeimer and ‘Adorno 97 Gibb 008 for theories of magi, se for example Mans 197 sul Fener2000). ‘Te interdieplinary proces ieespecally aug when crossing between the humaniisand the sciences. Rey Chow (2002) comments that perhaps the mas firreaching arly of mimesis both natural and cultural phe- somenon in Western thought—tat of René Giard—has fled to be pro hse taken wp bce aks empirical or sient asian, This sony be 4, but kn wat follows I sketch «rough map of the recurrent concen with mimesis invarous kinds of empirical work tisnot to provide sn copia “grounding” or legcimation for a rethking of mimetic com usicstion. Hater, what Yam soggesing that theory neds to adopt 3 eit funetion, drawing cently on dierent forms oflmowdedge ask ‘wharf one conceived the word in this way? What then becomes possible in {he epuce opened up by sch a “passionate fcton” to Borrow ete rom Tees de Laurels (994)? ‘haman minestin fs complex imbication of biological capatesva itis vil novlty—is to be proper undentoody a malidcplinary approach Arvringon the cence a well athe umanitesisrequred, Thre is now renewed terest in the bilogkal foundations of human lif and 2 new irony sbout the permesity of boundaries between human and animal Iie atthe possibility of organ transplants from animals to humans (for example) becomes part of or daily awareness. Mimiry is both natre and talture Michel Tassig suns up the ntiacy of this elation when he cal ‘imi “the ature that culture ws to create second nature” (95,3 [As Mary Matson pote it "the aceptance of parent as appropriate models {or imation f certainly based on biological pateras, and den the ele ‘labortes on that by inventing choo teachers and peychoanlyst" (979, (7-68), And aldo cles prdiatd a era biological capacities, it seems clear that the biological body marks a constraining, rather han & Acterining, nfuence on the nature ofthe aman. And in part by Vitae foment it ele activ entle certain kinds of development. Its n0¥ hot so mucha question of ying to work out whatisnatereand what second atte, but rather tose thatthe question of mature versus murtre i srt one, once we teconize the complex ways in wich the human ‘onpiniam and ts environments re "mvaly unfolded and enflded stra ‘ure (Varea,Thompaon, sid Rosch, 199) andar each recomposedin and through their exchanges? For in fact evolution demonstrates the muta: bility and sales ofbiology against permanence thnk of the way ‘he functional architecture ofthe bran alters wit the advent fray in ceria cultures) and, in another temporality, the biological is rewrten by Cte with the ad of technology from droge to pacemalers or bythe ‘outbreak of epidemic of hysteria ar multiple personality disorder (each of which canbe see, a ee in part, a contagious mametie phenomens, a Ian Hacking (998) has argued ofthe laser, and Juliet Mitel 2000) of he formes. “Mimic is avery bad concep waite Delewe and Guat (987 1)* Betis there, thes also another way o think imi that form of embod ‘copying that ale serves as wind of hinge between nara and exturet he importance of mimesis in eveyday forms of culture and communication has fied oe propery understood in Wester cxturei part becauseithas been associ with infants and ana, is thee someting now to be ined Gom paying attention to srs explorations oft by blogs nd ‘searches of infants And why might it matter to do tis A move in this ietion would low us to begin to rethink mess na as simple mimicry Aerie ving depenieat on vision (monkey st moakey do), but acomplex cemmunizaive proces in which other snsryand afetve modalities are central involved. What weave to gun fom tht sabes understanding ofthe ol of mimetic communication in sacl proces, and epecally of ‘hemaking~andbreaking—of soca bonds. These fora the basifora sense of belonging” and uikimately ofthe pois as what forms theaactve bases, ofpotcal orders? Alte heart of mimesis is afect contagion, the bioneralogil means by wich parialr afte ace transmit fren body to body. The dsctete innate aes of which Sivan Tomkins speaks are powecul pureyrs of sfet contagion since theyre communicated apy and automaticly vis the fice, at wel 5 the vic. This Bemus the distinct neuoogial profile of cach afc is covratod with particular physical eestions, including rnicular an planduler and sia respnsee OF particle interest fica ‘expresions aetation ofa mimetic impulse in response tothe facial expres- sion of observers tending then to elit he sme actin them. Ie Wry Aicaltnotso respond wo a spontancou smile wih s spontaneous mile of ‘nes ow, and one's own smile provides suficientfalback to oar own ovis to activate the pyslologal and neurological aspects of Central tothe working of alfect i the fact that “affects are not private abecte internal intestinal responses bat facia esponses tht commnicateand m0: ‘uate a nee both publ outward tothe other and bac aad nar to th one who smiles a creo ren or sneer or otherwise express is affect” (Tomkins 1966, i). People are exert scaders of hes and these communications are more tea understood than no, eventhough they ofen ake place ouside avare> nes. othe fae plays central sue inthe xpreion and communication of sls, and its inmportance has oly been amplified by the pervasiveness of ‘natn in everyday fe (sce Gibb ne, and Angel and Gibbs 2006). The face ‘ubiquitous inthe eal of de image, where conjures bot the dire afets and the fequent atts 1 mask them ("backed up alot” a8 ‘unkins terms) which television soup ators ste especialy good ig- ‘ulng. Bat the uzan fice slo seems to dgram il onto the sense ows guts of other images in which t docs not explo appear land scapes, houses, foods, animals, skin, and choreographed Bodies, so tht ‘he word canbe ficiized eves inthe abvence of faes fom te imag. Magazines 26 well a television make use of faciaization ia this way 0 conjare more complex representations of sod, inclang those stainedAme ite omypeses of fects labora x cmotions ha ny ary ety clearly andbisorically But the fice is not the eal vector of mediated act contagion. Con- sumer of media ae alo consrpted into its lows at level wemight erm — folowing Gilbert Smondon—"preindvidua” (99,3) Increasingly the raphe sigs of logos the Nie svoodh, othe soundbite sized musical ‘Sratues of MeDonal’s or thebriefarangements of ots with which or computers and mobile phones greet us, function a thie Tes sig fares or logos, Scheer io sound or image form, genecatefelings that ble the bod capacity for synesthesia, in which fet seems to actasa switchboard throug which all sensory signals ae pased. Toyotas "Ob, ‘what fel!” map the image of jumpin sho-mo and ends wit fee frame onto a arrangement of notes that mierors the ump’ ring contours sd then ssa to cue out over an eige Thelma and Lousy, before king the thi ofthe Gore withthe fling sae of "Toy-ota” Both soul and image trae the typical pater of arousal and peau ofthe Aliscrete ates of oy Logos whether veo oraurl evoke the‘lsivequltis..capared by ynami, Kinetic ters, ch ‘urging ding aay een! “expose “assendo!'decescendo "busting! drum ou? andso on, which theinfant researcher Daniel Str ieoties the atvation contours of the dscree ffs (Sern 198, 55-57). These activation contours qualify the dice Mss, conteponding tothe pace of sng and fling eels oftheir arosak heofferstheceample of acuahofoy or anger Whether an afer comingor ging information thats then conscripted into semloic ystems of ean Ing joy ariving means something very dierent fom joy departing or elating. Bu, according to Werne’s theory of phslognomic preption, ‘which shows that seis of simple two-dimensional grams elbly ls 4 restictd number of categorical acts ("happy sad angry”), the same fang line that signals joy departing or defi wil usally be saat socines (Sern 98s. imi, light engthenog ofthe in tha om owes the “sadnes diagram wil end to animate it 0 tat the temporal ‘ineasion i again brought into play because the ine then evokes the kine atc of gesture, in the sae wey we ae abl to infer 2 Sours fom a Certain sgnatore, which then lend the sgnatre a particular sigacane ‘lace we tke ttn sy something about the person who produced it? and musical logos orchestrate he activation contours f the discrete ets both eo int ou ows bodies into immetiate mimetic respons, and, in the ‘ame moment, by the same movement, toconscriptffecsinto signification a era ‘tee work cf nr mentee hath ine af fc theory, ‘ding anew dimension to Tobin's thought about the apprenson of ‘elf and enabling Masami to forge crcl connection eth Water esi’ concept of “aonscastos smarty which is" to the ven ‘but lacking in sense content” able tobe “rely pecived"—but ony “in feng (Masse 200,43 In thinkag about the role performed by what hecomes tol “tality aft? Stem concludes that ft fntions asthe “upramodal currency” ito which experience in any sensory mol my be transatad (Ser 9,59. For Masur italy fects te aod hey ‘an "jump net just beeen uations but ls between ese modes” pro- cng “nonlocal” corespondences in which forms appear “the sensuous traces ofamodal kage” (Masui 200,148) This precisely describes the vk of imei, even aie simplest eve in miciry. ‘Mimic may represent the desire to disguise what one is (an animal voids predators; an Internet predator pretends to bea teenage) or the {ese to become something ele [a human infatdenties with is parent) [Keane citer homage or hosts emight agit sympa, seducon, erption, defense, or aggression" It may sere the serious purposes of earning ad thot of pleural ply which sess tobe tent party what ‘Wer Renmin han sind wha he writes his etsy “On the Mietic uty thatthe "eid plays at being not only a shopkeeper or teacher bat Also windmill or tin” (979, 260. Bur at the ear of meds isthe ‘mumediacy of what pases between bodies and which sbtends cognitively ‘malate epresetation, whic it doesnot ever eniely replace oF supe- sede It isnot analyable within asemiosc mode, nor doesitrequire an": -sesentialiy asbjectveerea though playa euclolenthe formation of abjecivi. Mimesis can moeph bods, changing colo, odo, frm, oF smorement ot might choose words or othe o cae reves ident a 8 ‘mim, But wht it sinfes and the medium in which i operates ess ‘portant tants mode of operation, Mimicry iets representation ofthe ter, but rederng relation luteum things in "whic, Hike + Bas, sinarty appears (Foucault 39732) Mimicry canbe undesood a 2 response to the ober, «borrowing of form tha might be productively thought of as communication, By "am: ‘municatlon” inthis context, however Ido not mean the tansision of information but, athe, action on bodies or, more accurately on aspects of odie) —as for example when reading ition produces new et sates in which change aot only ou Boy chemistry, but alo-—and ata ret cour attitudes and ideas as we shape from nazzative a ructre of meaningsoe Asan is (see A. Gite 200% 2008), hi sharing of form compres information in the p-cyberetic sent: repaint the organization or commanicstion of relationships (whic might be spatial temporal tonal, energetis,log ‘al, ctl, nd s0 on) through temporary captures of form by way of ‘nimi. Noteducibetobit ans, information af his indi "ie proces ‘whereby diflezence [or pater, reltionship] s discovered in the enviton- ment” (Yoshimi 2008 Mies, ke af, snot necessarily best tought of as occurring at he level of the individual or of the organism. It isnot property of eter subject or object but trajectory in which Both are swept up so tha forms can be seen a “the sensuous traces of the] amodelikage” between tern (Mass 2003 14). Another way of thlaking about this woald be to sap ‘hat mimesis abstracts some (but ntl) aspects of whats copie rom the othe, making we of ison, bearing, alactio, morphology er tehivos ot several ofthese. Bu it is noe simply 2 question of subject and objet ree ‘dons Beoven mimic and mode, or of the active mic and pusive model Rather, evohuonary ecology speaks ofa “mimicry comple” that incodes nic, model (which could bea diferent species rom that of hemi}, sand "dupe (he seeve of the deceptive signal) and this dupe may bes thin specie, fe take the example ofthe predator. And wie mimicry often operates to thee’ advantage and the models cvedvatog thie it _notalaysthe case Calls’ famoas esa critiquing the idea of mimicry a, 4 device for survial makes this abundaadly clear when he describes the angers of dguising ones a leaf when thats what members of your ‘vn species actualy et (Calo 1987, 67). However, the mimicry comple oes neverthles exer transformation ofboth partisan "s paral eo Jaton” as Deleuze and Guar (19) have. Pucaps she best ample ofthe efecs of mimicry on the model is sven by Deleuze and Gott inti discasion ofthe apymmetril o- Crlation they term “becoring” The Gout cite ofthe wasp and the ‘orchid makes this very cer the orchid imitates the wasp s0 that fora moment the wagp beams part of the orchid’ morphology and its re productive ster, we the orchid in tur becomes part of the wats slimentary system. The form of reciprocy involved hee i asymmetrical, but both parties to the proces are “detrritorilzed™ 1 return to this particular example because twas real to me es rex a newspaper sory shout esearch, Anne Gasket, who had dscoved that wasps go wise to the orchids overtime, but thatthe orchids seem to develop nore alluring eect 9p sont intence clos nd tl armen ert ety head of tha (Macey 07), Although he artic abouther work does st this explicit, the only parts ofthe orchid aed by tis Yams eae” ar te sent and fxr, while only the wasps "balls detectors change o ty to kp pace with them. (Ort could be the oer way around inthe race, ince ei not posblet sa which paryisabesd at any given moment) Tiss ote tation not so much Between a wasp and an orchid per as betwen the eps alimentary sytem and the orchids reproductive stem (Massumi 1992 25). Mimiry i very elective in its use of sensory chunnel~in this case the ones sed are olfactory, visual, and morphological “Human mr, too is selctive (and, Ike the elatonship between the ‘wasp and the orchid, implcates cose species dsr), as when we pt on orl perfumes o anal fr to enhance our powers of traction, But this selcivity also has another very partials sigicance in uma ery, hich ics it inthe service ofthe formation ofthat racial ite forani= zation, the sell Daniel Sten describes how we ine-month-ld gic ‘coms exited about toy and isableto rast she "ts out an exert ‘ah’ and looks at her mother. Her mothe looks back, seuches vp hee ‘shoulder and performs rfc shimmy with her opper body ke a go-g0 ance. The shimmy last only about a long as her daughter'aah but i ‘ual exited, joyfaland mens (Stern 985,40). ‘What Stra account of themother’s cross. modalmitation—o trenton ofthe bys quel of light nto «dancing ssi coresponding with itslength and hythmic contour also make lea that inlay icra, but so too isthe diference produce ia this sensory tanltion, Far it 's the difernce, orth cozespondence—omorphisea without deity ‘Produce in the rant fom one sensory mode nto another ht, fn ‘ithin the optic ofthe formation of the se aia the infant raga recognition ofthe interior of the other (es wel a oft). Inthe infants Increasing svareness that experience cas be communicated and she ew subjective works come ino momentary contact, een though the meting ‘ofthis contact anit faction nthe subjective worl of mother and baby ‘ibe diferent foreach of them. The accuracy ofthe translation especialy ‘he matching ofthe inns degree of rousl—ie crucial tits soces and “Teankns’ aft theory helps us char this with some pression, Suprise (ther tha stare) it provoked by the novels af the change of sensory ‘hunneimplctin the sui comruous (that i, ot shocking tale ‘on. Surprive a this eve of arousal a pote tet, dtsting the baby's96 Ama ‘reo cpt wt ther an ing os ernie aie (ese flare tee ow wou ae een ining tn This voce of easaon between different sensory modalities is what yas eps ob reno iar ter xg eto fete died ng Psiting eee Stictind mnie ag yo te min) Th eer canny of eee opt ponte of ween bt fon a expel mut oneing ele repro nd trou te wr In prc ifloce yess of oe ‘Tie opie, bth nea ntprely oud evo mvay de wo dite coe tivo of eet anonping door exe prs pater by lc tet tse ih ps ofan anda ese of ony {time ee he etn ders both epic and rl ‘Stung byte wont of memory aed ation The late {ont en diet cats shower ene 8 nD eed ewer and tos ay ge eae cos Coupland er rigcl ntrce Male mee iar foe ofboth nutes th etre i a More ages a ss “owllgemue pny te wort eng “bese amen et eriromen ant prtmaly ee he natant eter SSSNme le theme te ora end Tenet he Sake the camel wld of a it fief tea en rota png nop at ars! Ca” G5 ‘ps, "feng i cout est cow ig of og om he se of ppiwapon ad af in as neo pei toa ‘Soe Srantematng arse tbe ha empathy Tee eta ino ing pd by to eed smal” made oul by ee oper tthe nner nexon ye, We we mc TMoemeptfegen econ tern nbs bs okt Sotto Spon fe sind he tr shen of he Soon (low soy) ne wore we wea con PO Tooele sae seal ews two be aed we wef For ots ected ote ay acy erence se Singtel, shen we eth ene Ace 97 jump and fc our own bodys toverd he movement Darwin 99840) esrb hit as the motor yrmpathy between two Bod "The organization of lations between bodies enabled by mimetic com ‘munication and the development ofthe sf also facitats one's sense of agency. When researchers of infants slowed down fms of itraction te- ‘gen mothers and babies, they noticed that he bie’ spperedy random ‘ching and wriggling happened in ime with their mother? vocal rhythms 5 tey talked dhe language that came tobe called “motberee: x highly ex- presi, ptterned, and repetie way of speaking with aggre changes ia pltdh and intonation that seems t be desgoa to espe the babies? tention and to mest and match the babe? prefered sounds and move ‘ment in thei parish, pac, ad intensity. Ths synchrony i ‘important prerequisite forthe “motaal fective regulation” of mother and ‘by tsa that the mother sable to respon tothe babys needs because, for example she i artaned to che etl ofa baby's distress or she ows how to old its interest, She can modulate the inf’ distress smpliy ts tnjoyment, and thi forms the baby's earliest experiance ofthe regulation of Mt states ts the basis ofthe bay’seventual capacity forthe affective self- regulation that wil afford ta measre of wstonomy. The baby also knows how to slit dhe motes attention, without which it wil nat survive ‘apesience in Romanian orphanages showed even more graphical than arlow’s controversial phological experiments on moakeys during the soso that babies, even when fed adequately, died if they di not reste faficent human comfort But this mimetic eapacy for synchrony (and the affective stunement fucitatedby it) isnot jaa feature of nfancy,o fhe reationship bere smothers and buble. This phenomenon, ls refered to asthe "entrais- ‘ment fone person with another, or whe someones gestures aod move= smant are synchronized with their peeh, or when an tetie Histene or sm autinee’salmosinisible movements ae synchronized withthe speech ‘hythms ef the person to whom they arelistening, so bodies comet "move in opmizations of change which reflect the microstructure of wht is being ssid ikea ear flowing curing oad” as Condon wits (i984). Butitmay sot be posible Rally a lost agency inane person rather than note, ‘bcase all apacts of behavior ae "both sequentially and hirreiclly ‘catinnous atthe same ime” (Condon 979,13). Behavior isl organized together and each aspect is discriminated se «pattern of teltonhp in ‘contrat the res” (Condon 1979139) One aspect of behavior may entrainother hth fn ane en boty ain that of sormene cle Here rsa ‘volving infants which normaly aes the development ofthe sla its objet cally enables an understanding of rationship loser to Massunis understanding of mimesiswas a movement that assembles relations a it ‘ravers bodies, ein form at trace ia its wake, rather dan being 2 property ofbodies hemsces. Nevertheless the operation ofthe lassen ‘ing ft with cognition and o enabling certain "Geedom af the wil” ‘couplcates human syneyony.* Human beings are pechaps as Hey tf ‘tat fallin with someone dl. “The eomplesty ofthe relationship heswienafect and eogaition tht acters the human, andthe dependence of comition on affect andthe senses, comes more clearly to the fre when we stat to thnk about the ‘ray language—in the very proces of making meaning—i mpl with ‘yan and moveent. There ea musa aspect infant entrainment {he repetition of short “phrases” by the mothe, and later en (when the Jaf about two) he ply tends to turn sya, and games are sped by sbyming and other forms of melodic patterning In considering thse cements of entrainment, Colwyn Tevarthen speculates about an inherent tine sense that sees to be bat into the human brain. This ea “chart ple” tht can be nied for ether smchrony or alternation —for exampi, fur-taking in conreration, Trevarthen asters that pte or rhyim an alfective sympathy are dhe two mala components of atunement between ‘mother and infant. Ryn (or "puls”), Ie affect, ngs (19992000). AS Condon writes, “There is an inner nity and inter to the ssid ‘eatonship between diet body pass moving at the sume time even st iterent pects and in diferent directions], ts] aif the body prs we obeying plbe or wave tran which orgaaized them tgeer -.. Body motion spears be an emergent, continuous serie of such pues, ong form (984 42). "oth animal and human bodies move ia bars of polehythmic exper sion tht allow “invcately timed pulses of muscular energy in harmonious ples of plastic transformation that push agaist the envionment” (Ie ‘varthen 2003)" Simary, speech end writing may also be entined by ‘yt. The trn-takng or aleratng vocal frm of mother inf inter sion wer ened at en important meane of orgizing communion {and teamed “proto-conversation” by Mary Bateson (7), who in cir work emphasizes the complementarity of conversation in interaction with other modalities: Ate A 98 "Theetence ofconreton tinct th pool, provided incrnary convenation bykinesc behaviour and parsanguage, of organization ino uns lgger than the epticte entnce, wo tat both ptlpants ate Inca in an onging ptt, Infant ging the preston of adult ‘ing fafa gestation a precursor of adult getalaton, snd infant ‘waalzation a precursor of aul ocliaton. But would leamingin each of tho ter of signalling rari they were ot juxapoved and thee communicative fanctions were not complementary (Bateson 978,72) ‘They ae not only complementary but also analogous, and tansltale | Theyarecapale of sabstating freak other and of corresponding cack her And they ae als, on occasions, capable of contradicting ach auber “Mother infant communication involves participants who se difereat codes, coordinating their behavior ina common performance a5 lo happeas in ‘oee-caturlcommanication), but ada are capable of using «number of dierent codes and sometimes the code sviching that governs Pero: mines ea result of complex context (Batson 97,7) ‘Novement, sound, and rythm age all anterior o symbolic verbal com- ‘munication and provide a prototype for it verbal conversation is formally | predicated on he shychms of nonverbal behavior, which it doesnot ever ‘atc replace or supersede: Movement, sound, and shyt are neither ‘vestigial to Inngunge, nor unorganized accompaniments tit. Gesture, for ‘camp is "forceful presence” in anguage Agamben:999 77). Itseensto sce fcitate thought and speech ending form othe sweep of aides, bulpingto rar it out, Writes dont deler nesses they make estas 0 Maven Ponty psi (97464). ‘Gesture the, ia ‘ater cave that helping meaning in ex fence” (McNeil 92) So sympathetic modes of communication not only persist alongside linguistic mos: they also inhabitand active shape the, ‘These are not rudimentary, infantil or so-called primitive modes of om munition: rather, they ate the eset preruits for, and woking collaborators with verbal communication. They are not mois in the stem ‘hey are part and pac of Mimesis san entre holistic, malogue mode of communication in hich “the world x apprehended st variation on sontinuovs dieasons, ‘tbr than generated from disrete elements” (Bucci 20). Whi lan ‘ge invokes both sail and paral modes of procasiag It an also be ought of form of serial procesing of experience hat has aleady been ‘rai: procetsad, Tis parallel prossing is performed via the dstbutednn i modes pat fom the vrei rnin Ieformatin rm each of ‘the senses i compared with memories of previous experience in each mo- {lx before being combined. Of cousealof this happens nan instant and js always ongoing. In Tonkin’ terms, this represents an informational compresion that ic aecesery because consclousness is limited channel” (Tomkins 9g, at. Such compression condense affective, sensory, an so- ciled cognitive forms of kaowladge, cteating procedural (or more broadly, ‘ondeclrative) memory. This isthe domain of habit without which we cart function. It comprises motor perceptual, and cognitive sil wel ‘complex emotional paterns sich asthe one Tomlin codes a alect ‘eripts.Thete and other automatic forms of knowledge are what allow us t9 engage in complex multiaskng, a whes we think about something be hie drivng through familiar sreescepe. "This proces of compression prompt rethinking of just wha ie meant cognition a al, especially when itis outineyasoiated with language. Tomkins insist the complexity of what he ells “he cognitive system.” ven the importance oft to sensory snd motor modes of knowledge dat not only “operate outside conuiousness and permit consciousness r= sit to the objects of knowles but which—in the case of sensory nowedge givers to 2 plethora of diferent kinds of knowledge, beyond ‘he diferent sens: dive, affect, nd muscle yensations aswell the pro~ prloceptive sens Tomkins 09,26). In eboraing onthe dtferent kinds of Inowing produced by thee various functions, Tombins makes dear that they at al intgrel to the cognitive sytem, which would inclde ala the sore. He uggst that cogation has been at once too narowly defined and too coy imagined asa independent "high command mechani” that woud assess andabiteate other ways of knowing Instead be argues apist the existence ofa separate cognitive mechanism at a and for“ more democratic stem wth no special mecaniam completly in charge on in charge, able to endure asa stable mechanse (Tombins 199217). What :esuks om this picture sa“stribted authority” that makes cogition “as osteo define asthe power laa democratic form of government or the ‘meaning’ in 2 sectenee” (Tomkins 199 17). ‘Atte imi hen, Tonkin mes clear hat there can be no “pre engi tion? no cognition uncontaminated by the riches of senate experience, Incladingaffctive experience. Aspects nf his lee of expeciener cannot be teandlated int words without doing velece to the totality of awareness for cxample, to the sinukanelty of various sensory experiences that readers AeA 20 hrm nine at when, thy the wd in ef ntrhing tha ny stresape wit the want ofthe morning sun on my bac, Esa the 4Sidous roma of of and simultaneous fet warmth in ny mouth, ‘taste ityand can tlle cic ofbean as ste idly te chatter inthe cae ‘ound me and al these thing Blend into my experince of “being inthe ‘aft Bat the hole ature of everyday pereption cauttbe dire tans- led int language and to express something of thi in words I mst pitt io sensory components andl thern in succeion, which amples hite- src fmportance—and so on, Ofcourse, anguage als enables active ‘unde on experience, opens ne forms of gency, rites tempor rela ons and inks things distant in time or place * ‘Acording to Wale Benjamin, language it the highest eel f mimetie heaviou (ti) « medium into which the eater powers of mimetic production and comprehension have pased without resi, o the point, vihece they Have liquidated howe of magic” (979,63, Speech and wit Ing both comprise “an archive of non-enavouscorespondences” (6a) in rich what Mastami calls le relations” can be shared “at any disance ‘om dhe sensuous forms they eve” (Masui 200, U8) Yet flanguageis seton at distance on the forme it connects, neverthaenst dieety 02 ‘he ody.” Metaphors not only often derive fom Bodily process (Laka and Jonson 299) but they excite a “sympathetic” response inthe form of cexbodie simulation io much the seme way a6 miror neurons do ee 1 Gs 2008) Tie simlation i not voluntary, ori ia form of pre ‘ens: itis “automatic unconscious and perefexive’” (Galles 200 cted in 1 Gibb 2006). Because simulations are shaped by somatic memory they ave specie consequence for haw metaphor (bu also many eypes of ‘onasetaphorclLnguage) can be understood. Langue is in fact highly ‘dependent onthe bods physica capacities or its fet, 1 is lo very sctv,conceatratng on evoking esperence in one sensory chanel a ‘mein this respect ita the body notasa united and indivisible whole, butas an ensemble of potentiates that can—and must~beslciey ati- sated Theody then, ents mach amediam atascriesof madi ach of ‘whch connects ints own way wit echrologcl mea including writing, Mies prodsces the virtual by enabling the reasembing of hee diate tel, ving rise to wha “el without being actual, deal without being brates Proust writs of dreams (1592, 998) ‘Nerkn Dona suggests hat from an evoitionacy perspective, mimesis ‘males symbolic thought pos since spbolic thought originates in "e-20s Arma its temalned ata” (like the act of reading ld, rather than set eating, he capacity for whichis developed ter). These acs are predicated on" rain capcity tat allows us to map our elementary event perepsons to action, thus cresting a singe stoke, the pss of action, metaphor, gesture, pantomime, re-enactive ply self-remining, imitative difsion of ski, and proco-pedagogy mong aber things” (2000, 3) Mime operates et very lee of experieace fom the most immediately corporeal tothe most abstac. Understanding the corporeal, nonverbal dimensions ofmimetc communication irae to explaining i pervasive ei in human social rations and ts centrality to clare forms ch ‘cinema and performance, which alts to bind spectstor into comple forms of scat inctuing sory, cinematic pectatoship, and audience member ‘ship. We end to think of rion asthe mos important seatocy rode fo mimicry especially inthe ag ofthe image. Howeve ltough sight sin fact eurlogzlly dominant inthe so-alehigher primates it arly operates {in solaton ftom the other senses, an its dependence on them indicates the Importance of sentry cous-modilaion or syaesthesin mimesis "To reconfigure mimesis as cross modal mimetic communication enables a ‘caalormatin in thinking shout vision and rua. Vial appear ot nly 5 biophysial phesomenon but also 8a social procs, 2 way of relating to what is seen. Mimesis can hen be understood as ce primary smode of apprehension uid by the bod; by sca technologies such a2 Cinema television, and even the Internet, and by the cultural process Involving crowed behavior, fs, eebiy, and pandemics of anoreia oF depression, a5 well asthe processes by which rapid shits of social and politcal studs may occur A beter understanding of how mimi is involved in these prociies is important becuse mimetic communication contibutes to the geeration ofthe “fective sociale" (BorchJacbsen 1988), Is the coment of parent hl, pou, fendship, and love edlations, snd, under certain conditions, ting fellow fing between strangers It also fons the atetve bass for etieal dealings with thers ‘The whole of man ealtre, then, peshaps, predicted on imitation, Jn which difrence and innovation are central eproduction and si- lary. Yet—in part precisely becuse of hse innate human capacity for mimesis gies ie not only to vas diferent and often incommensurable modes of ined emotion bt ao to completly dierent ways of producing ‘nd archiving the nonsensuows smiares that comprise both the Yep quale oflived experience sn the forms ofbsract knowledge ia diferent caltres:? Massumi enjoins us to remember the “duplicity of for” which Aer er 23 prsipatee“pontaneouly sd dimultanwouyin two oder ofzelity one loca and leamed or intentional, the othe: none ad slforganizing™ (assur 200 1) hin plc hat necnstatr an osilationbe- ‘een two perspectives On the one hand a certein trategc humanism ‘owed though the pte of epresetation that foewes on the ealtarlly sti and historically changing forms of subjectivity sl seems indspens- hf we are remember that what wecall "he mas" can neverbe more ‘than an image and will vay tend to exclusion and prescription. Oa the ‘other hand, the word of nonlocal” subjective becoming in which these {rms appear simply as momentary aces of other movements promises ‘ive rise to enisionings beyond the akeady own, even as thei discovery shrentent to produces univeralzing dicoure tha ids the cri pie ficty and particularity of éitfeances, especially cultural and semal ones ‘The "paslongte eons” of wring nd art more generally sem to offer ‘vay of working in both dimensions simutansosly, and contemporary ‘heoretial wring is ncreasingly borrowing the echriques and methods of Seton to this end, interlocking ensation with story and in the process creating the essay 253 heuist for innovation* Notes atresia of eins fh work weeds "Baron th Cuan ‘be sca (Une of Spey sn the NMA (Hard, Cos he Jetronl terete nd Pye Confers (Aes nan he Te ing Ae cofene (Dati Univers 0) In pata, have ie mind wk in cata eae by Hp roy, ifr Biel, Mela Hdl, via Ange Hl ent, aie Gee, Men Wain, Sue Bat Cray Duin ier Cal nd ae Race 2 nee words td mae ought reo ot 4) Take mean ht oe ing 4 Aro te soe weber or ot ily iat ome ‘ele hare seme toe incense a ma oy Ee ot ‘aol, Gila Kplen 007) set Atal mage poe age "pets wih ihr seen noes pr rol econ nif and which nay posi copie ardent ferm flanged ‘eentalsgaing Peete a0) ak inde sept abouts an Hermes (ss abet dine 5 tha benarocd a eing mimic mates hana nt repos (an Barnet 0) Howe the pps pre (Gb a) (6 Teri sotecue hacen one par fe verponse ef xeon) Ieoort acters. 27 “Ladig Wingensen sold thn when one ses something beauiful-an yeiis ‘sald and wat de (Crys) Oso pti vas etl dinenspn hat on ray to ans the cre we se belie (in toring cae Sr Home al 9 farcatonef amie ofp tdi seat hr info of etic sera yh po Gn egw lame teem epi sy 0 forhirvery bt etal commen hn ay) dase erg vie fo te tition oa eda a age of nimi, msds rode tienes awl st fi. tat make ne speciale the Sapp, When we eet colt alte es fern ints bow a ation “noua! nl appeared prepery ht on sepeon ret (Grad 000 (a Deo ad Gust psy hs proce of deer ihe "sec ft smal movement com orm aoc dove eof aig thet wep see sie (8. 29-90. ‘Hoe alopt lis etition epee ec poe ‘ove terpenes nage fncons “ee ated (oi. cs mtn on ior neon eos ve, bt ior tonal tring Reel 203) Maree 2 Wale al pt, "Pesos, ‘tlc ae vnlater eons repeat 0 ape grup of ness ‘fsgnaed a medal nero (sian ad Gr tp 208) Scns ty “onin ihn hm he apy be reacted nlaenusy by et terry dali fr ep ada oreo ad Val” (Wa ea soo Ter Tonkin oda amt ow tbe ratchet tem bth ons and ne rn ftw 96) “artnet rma fem he buat erheiton ness ‘te appekenin oftine iat hecallhe latest pu ascents tpanaoe) Te Rl od Abin ono gs ether than cei the ‘tna precio io ec commnnicton 9) Ante rns ‘en naman beng my ela hs process ‘Concer ET sel conden ease ends nd aeagus i 9h nae ht tne sao sant hand mere presets Bo tr The Ingleon tat san pce for he xeon flange “ewe em peralmmastion eon a gh ain the o> ‘ili af he sgcance of cer eo se ne exact trie {nine cacao and ep emit ed le {ind es gore Gly) einai emer vant nora ary nnd te cones ote inc pte are we span msn ae he bavi th pe ead bythe mio nero ern Thi shaman taps ae {revblsisin communion (Waals emp inaa) toate wenger medi end ani ww the ‘nnd dens of ery om ing pera ase ‘renting ine feng ict kg hat rin coming aig we st se done nd mt edie oh ete’ ad opengl ‘Sprasiom parr exuns for hy eveoped sn ales andthe ‘sand wience and coolly foe banda con pe sr oct ao [efile daamson te rsioniphenen language and hese Ang see GEA 200, ‘Sieh Giro iran tended enuin otis spect of ngage Mento ch phenemenn err re enya eig nc cates’ oo 9) ‘Arh wri ees 08 te neprn ofthe nes epi ‘Se th ptr rend cond cara ere fb na, 38-4) Tic in he ome fhe on of noratns tat the ack of aint ‘ena Fencing Gabe de Tren bs need pan and ae disup in GD 08 Inthe hve den xs the eter fr eb Sev Sune sok fs wonder acaion and demonataton of wing a¢