An anthropological guide to the art and philosophy of mirror gazing

Author(s)

• Koukouti, Maria Danae
• Malafouris, Lambros

Bibliographic Information

An anthropological guide to the art and philosophy of mirror gazing

Maria Danae Koukouti & Lambros Malafouris

（Thinking in the world）

Bloomsbury Academic, 2021

• : hb

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [173]-182) and index

Summary: "The ability to look at one's face in the mirror and the ability to find one's self in the mirror are two quite different things. The former is a natural capacity that humans share with other animals; the latter is an acquired skill that only humans can master. The craft of mirror-gazing,despite its relevance to daily life is barely understood. An Anthropological Guide to the Art and Philosophy of Mirror Gazing provides a metaphysical manual to understand it. The book is written from a cross-disciplinary and object-based perspective. The role of the mirror as a technology of self-objectification is explored through various case studies of cultures such as the Buryats of Eastern Mongolia. By using various anthropological examples, Koukouti and Malafouris survey and reflect on the structures and experiences of consciousness that underpin the specular image and the different meanings of the self. ..."

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Looking at one's face in the mirror and finding one's self in the mirror are not the same. The former capacity is something we share with other animals; the latter is a skill: something we have to learn. What does it mean and what does it take to find oneself the mirror? This book provides a comparative anthropological enquiry into the unity and diversity of mirror gazing. The reader is encouraged to reflect upon and experiment with different mirror gazes through a range of case studies. Koukouti and Malafouris weave together anthropology with philosophy and draw on examples from literature and experiments from psychopathology in a way that has never been attempted before. The master metaphor is that of the mirror as trap. Mirror gazing is viewed on a par with hunting. Mirroring signifies the hunt for self-knowledge. In a time obsessed with the digital self-image, Koukouti and Malafouris reflect on the structures of consciousness that underpin the different ways of looking at and through the mirror. Combining metaphor, comparison and estrangement, they gesture towards a therapeutic alliance between body and mirroring. This allows us to look in the mirror, and think of our shared humanity differently.

Table of Contents

Image and Imagination: A Prolegomenon Chapter 1: About Mirroring: An Introduction PART I: Dis-enchantment Chapter 2: The Image Thief Chapter 3: Beautiful Scars PART II: Re-enchantment Chapter 4: Looking Through the Looking-Glass Chapter 5: The Other in the Mirror Chapter 6: The Gaze of the Shaman PART III Hunters and Prey Chapter 7: The Mirror Trap Chapter 8: How to Look in The Mirror Epilogue Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

• NCID: BC00500850
• ISBN:
  • 9781350135154
• Country Code: uk
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: London
• Pages/Volumes: ix, 188 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : BF697.5.S43
  • DC23 : 155.2
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Self-perception -- Case studies
  • LCSH : Self-consciousness (Awareness) -- Case studies
  • LCSH : Self-perception
  • LCSH : Self-consciousness (Awareness)
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BB29718893