The subsidiary status of language

Last year I got introduced to the idea of mimesis as a political and psychological phenomenon. I was more familiar with the way the word has been used in aesthetics to talk about art's ability to copy nature, but in political theory in political theory it describes an unconscious identification with a crowd or a mimetic leader that trumps political discourse and reason. I'm spending more time with this idea right now in Nidesh Lawtoo's book The Phantom of the Ego. Lawtoo traces the idea back to Plato, with his distrust of the actor or rhapsode's ability to arouse the passions of listeners/viewers, but really starts with modern development of the idea in Nietzsche, who criticized the effect as practices by Wagner, who had a "magnetic" effect on followers. 

The discussion of mimesis brought up the discovery by neuroscience of mirror neurons, which cause people to mirror or experience sensations of others. It's a fascinating idea, but it seems like the specific cases where these neurons fire might not explain the range of mimetic effects. Nietzsche observed effects more broadly, arguing that it was a predominant mode of existence the ego gets surrendered to the influence of the crowd and to the influence of persuasive figures.

My take on language philosophy such as Wittgenstein--maybe not the best informed take--is that it becomes very difficult to identify how common meaning can be achieved. In an encounter long ago with Paul DeMan, me and some undergraduate colleagues, after a long dinner challenging him on the slipperiness of meaning, in the end asked how a simple conversation is then even possible and he answered something along the lines that communication nevertheless does occur. It could be that it is all mimesis. A mirroring, surrendering the ego in order to identify with the other or something beyond, through which comes implicit agreement on meaning, or near meaning. 

Starting with the Reagan era, I was struck by how little words themselves mattered, replaced by communications that privileged images, juxtapositions rather than logic. When I went to business school, a professor there, Tom Mahoney, gave me some reading assignments before classes started. One book was about South African termites (I think it was The Soul of the White Ant by Eugene Marais). It took me many years to understand why he assigned that, but I think I get it now. The book was particularly interested in the way termite colonies coordinate activity in complicated ways without language or obvious signals. As I recall it is done through chemical releases. Tom wanted me to think about the way coordination in human organizations escapes reduction to simple techniques, the mystery of it. Nevertheless, communication occurs. In his novel The Overstory, Richard Powers describes the work of Suzanne Simard, who found that trees emit chemicals as a form of communication among themselves about dangers and environmental changes. 

All of these describe different non-verbal forms of communication--visual images, pheromones, chemicals, mirror neurons. It's a battery of mechanisms that may be less visible but more effective than words. In the world today, the power of mimesis is primarily threatening. Everything points to Trump and versions of Trump in every country. My wife and I went to bowl game this week, and the sense of contagious anger was palpable with every disputed call. Even the moments of joy had a violent, angry quality. Any ruling or result that went against the home team (this was effectively a UT home game) got people around us to talk to each other, about how the fix was in with bias against the home team and incompetence bordering on criminality. The more furious emotions seemed to have more ability to replicate themselves around us. 

Mimesis also seems like compassion. Mirroring should also be able to inspire care for others. The trick with mimesis may be to set up situations that allow room for compassion and avoid or deflect furor. 

If mimesis is so critical to communication which nevertheless occurs, can administrators use mimesis to build the institutional community? Instead of more traditional tools? Alongside them? 

Language still matters. If you've ever graded student writing, you will see students using words that seem to fit but you can't help thinking they chose not because of the precise connotations of the word, but because the word makes them seem smart or hip. My stepson used the word "praxis" this morning in a context where "political action" would have sufficed, but praxis sounded more sophisticated. The ability to make those distinctions should matter, but it is not obvious in what context. That fine use of words will not by itself rule the day.