Going deeper into the vegetal is essential, I think for getting under the surface -- an aikido behind the usual opinions about technology, interaction, action, perception, ethico-aesthetics.
Encouraged by Guattari, Stengers, Whitehead, I'd like to insist that we persist in trying to think in a less bifurcated way, hence ethico-aesthetics rather than ethics. Another tactic I would like to try with everyone in this circle is to bracket technology, ie to make the epoche' move also with respect to the technological attitude -- analogous to what phenomenologists call the "natural attitude". One corollary is to suspend belief in notions like open source and replication or duplication. (I wager the TML that these notions exemplify what Linnaea Tillett and Wittgenstein call "bad questions" or "ungrammatical" questions. :)
In fact, it is to make an aikido move detourning some overly hasty Q&A that I propose inviting some more knowledgable people to come speak with us about the vegetal. For example, I hope to invite Prof. Natasha Myers back from Toronto (to work with us in plants and human movement) and to somehow teleport Prof. Monika Bakke Poland (plants and non-anthropocentric eco-ethics) this Fall. And
to do some field work as necessary together in the TML with our plant platforms this Fall and Winter. Of course we would need to populate the term "vegetal" with some specific questions. This is just a placeholder email. I'll draw up some themes and references based on your inputs -- keep them coming -- thanks!
Looking forward to it,
Xin Wei
L, XW,I'm still keen on reading the proposed texts, but it is unclear to me what is intended by "the vegetal". Taken broadly, it could refer to a wide range of concepts. At first the focus was clearly environment politics/ethics/ethico-aesthetics, but I'm a bit burnt out on this aspect of the PLSS project – I feel like I've answered the questions I needed to answer – so I would like to see us drift toward something else specific.Some discernible threads:- Natasha is working on subjective effects, particularly temporal, that the act of plant care gives rise to. These findings can be richly extended to support interesting questions of long time-scalesensing and/or media.- I am recently more interested in practical/political questions: how can I live off-grid, starting now[1] or how can my own life be an experiment in resilient living.- Laura has been engaging deeply with Spinoza, which is a more spiritual pursuit and Bateson. I like the idea of reading Spinoza and Bateson in concert.- Diving into Guattari is interesting to me, but I think it should be augmented with supporting texts. Bateson I'm guessing would be useful given how often Guattari refers to him, but I don't see much coming out of mixing Spinoza with Guattari. At least I think engaging with one would compromise the extent to which we could engage with the other (they both require intense concentration, something quite precious and often rare for us undergraduates!)- I'm also increasingly interested in questions of technology, inspired by Illich[2], Cooley, anarchist writers, and more recently OSE[3]. Xin Wei has suggested that it would be appropriate to touch on Simondon here. Maybe this kind of study should be folded into the FQRC materials research w/ Harry and Patrick. I think that one of the most important questions for "new materials" research is how the materials are made as an ethical, practical, and political question. See for instance the attached PDF, Growth Assembly[4], or SKDB[5].I think we all need to be wary of spreading ourselves thin, so let's try to keep this focused. I could get into any of the above threads. What do you think?@natasha, I'd like to hear what you had in mind... what is 'the vegetal' to you?Morgan[1] so that I can maintain a comfortable quality of life and continue research in other areasOn Mon, Jul 5, 2010 at 1:25 PM, Laura Boyd-Clowes <l.boyd.clowes@gmail.com> wrote:Hi Xin Wei et. al.,Yes, let's put together a short list of readings. This summer I am
working in a beautiful garden, but out here the internet is nearly
impossible to use, so I apologize for being incommunicado. When it
comes time to make decisions, please don't wait on my reply!Many of the following suggestions have already been put forward. All
of them are intended as _starting points_ for further in-depth
discussion. The gift of an ongoing reading group is that the members
will adopt a common language, build a common conceptual framework, and
nurture a community based on dialogue.As for Spinoza: I would like to propose a parallel reading group,
since I suspect that "The Ethics" will prove to be more dense and
puzzling than we could manage in just a few weeks. It is well worth an
entire semester of study. I would be glad to start us off by leading
the first sessions, after which we could invite other PhD/grad
students or professors to guide our group discussions. This way we
will approach the text from multiple/multiplying angles; appropriate
for such a rich and enduring work.Suggested readings:I strongly recommend that we take a look at some articles from Erin's
"Public" magazine. I've had the pleasure of skimming through a copy
borrowed from Gwynne Basen (Erin, apparently you know each other?) and
found it valuable."The Culture of Nature" by Alexander Wilson. Chapter 3 - Nature at
home: A Social Ecology of Postwar Landscape Design"The Three Ecologies" by Félix Guattari Introduction, 70-80, 140-141"Ecology of Wisdom" by Arne Naess, ed. by Alan Drengson, Bill Devall - 140-141"Bioethics in the age of new media" by Joanna Zylinska - Preface, 22-34, 49-53"Steps to an Ecology of Mind" by Gregory Bateson - 'Form, Substance
and Difference' (this would be best read alongside Pt. V of "The
Ethics")What else is going through people's minds? Are we still interested in
this kind of stuff, or has the direction shifted? As always, I look
forward to hearing from you!- L