The Philosophy of Movement: Using Affect Theory and Existentialism to Negotiate Difference Online
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The Philosophy of Movement: Using Affect Theory and Existentialism to Negotiate Difference Online by Kara Wai-Fong Au A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Digital Humanities University of Alberta c Kara Wai-Fong Au, 2018 Abstract The design of comment systems on social media and news websites such as YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter are not made to promote critical discussions or find the source of political conflict. The integration of digital tools like social media to enact politics online and the shift to identity-based politics further complicates the political space. The speed at which digital communication occurs and the rate at which online news is released places stress on the ability to pause and think about critical and sensitive issues like death. This paper introduces a new theory called the philosophy of movement. It will explain how adopting this philosophy will help the user be a more effective and affective communicator of political issues. The philosophy of movement incorporates affect theory, existentialism, and conflict resolution to produce an actionable and theoretical model to understand and respond to political difference in the digital space. In the philosophy of movement through existential authenticity the individual is faced with the ambiguity of reality and the multitude of contending truths. They are able to negotiate through this conflict by accepting ambiguity, but empowered to act in spite of not knowing through their affective potential, the ability to affect and be affected in the public space and make an impact in the field of relation. The philosophy of movement is implemented in a case study examining a local conflict where a woman is at odds with a town that believes driving a hearse as a regular vehicle is inappropriate. The philosophy shows how the dissemination of the conflict online obscured the true source of the issue and did not enable reconciliation due to the inauthentic response of the public and the style in which the articles were published. This paper shows how the philosophy of movement contributes to authentic problem solving so that reconciliation can be reached through conflicts with ambiguous truths. ii Acknowledgements I would like to especially thank my advisor, Dr. Maureen Engel, for her patience and wisdom throughout the writing process. I would also like to extend a sincere thank you to the members of the thesis committee: Dr. Megan Strickfaden, Dr. Geoffrey Rockwell, and Dr. Harvey Quamen. Thank you to my family for believing in me. Finally, a special thank you to John. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Table of Contents iv Introduction 1 1 Affect, Existentialism, and the Philosophy of Movement 5 1.1 Before Affect: The Mind-Body Relationship . 8 1.1.1 Describing Affect . 11 1.1.2 Potential and the Virtual . 15 1.2 Existentialism . 19 1.3 The Philosophy of Movement . 28 1.4 Closing Thoughts . 36 2 Digital Activism, Affective Politics, and the Need for Philosophical Practices 38 2.1 Using the Internet to Participate in Democracy . 40 2.2 Identity Politics and Online Influence . 47 2.3 Digital Activism and Philosophical Practices . 54 2.3.1 Philosophy in the Digital Realm . 55 2.4 Closing Thoughts . 62 3 Case Study: Breaking Traditions 65 3.1 Conflict Background . 66 iv v 3.1.1 Communication Timeline . 67 3.1.2 Case Significance . 71 3.2 Online Response . 73 3.2.1 Digital Design and Difference . 81 3.3 Shifting Conversations with the Philosophy of Movement . 83 3.3.1 The Philosophy of Movement Online . 90 3.3.2 Limits to the Philosophy of Movement . 94 3.4 Closing Thoughts . 96 Conclusion 98 Bibliography 102 Introduction During my childhood there was always a computer in the house. My father, a former computer scientist, saw a future in digital technology. I would watch him flip the black Nokia phone open with an authority that I could only imagine to possess for when I would one day become an adult. In 2015, over one quarter of students in Grade 4 had their own cell phone. This rose to an 85% ownership rate by Grade 11.1 Although my childhood usage was limited to (offline) Solitaire and Minesweeper, which then evolved to top gaming websites such as Addicting Games and Miniclip in the early 2000's, these websites have long since been usurped by social media by youth. As Valerie Steeves notes: In 2005, half of the 10 most popular sites were game sites. Although the top 10 list in 2013 still contains two game sites, they no longer occupy the top two spots (instead coming in at numbers seven and eight), and the list is dominated instead by social media (taking four of the top 10 spots) and YouTube (at number 1).2 Canadian youth are becoming increasingly digitally literate at younger ages as Canada continues to live and participate in a growing network culture. The boundaries of appropriate use and addiction become blurred as an individual's work and personal lives are managed through the same device. Without appropriate measures taken, work emails are received at home and managing personal relationships online spills over into the workplace. With growing concerns over this balance, France legislated a need for employers to make alternative arrangements and 1. Valerie Steeves, Young Canadians in a Wired World: Phase III (Ottawa: MediaSmarts, 2015), 4. 2. Ibid., 5. 1 2 protocols so that work does not spill over into time off.3 In spite of new boundaries being built over digital technology, the Internet allows individuals to communicate with other types of people they otherwise may not have had the opportunity to meet. With individuals of a variety of experiences and demographics interacting online, there is the potential to miscommunicate as differences in culture and social etiquette may confuse or frustrate the recipient. At the same time, while anonymity may not directly promote the user's desire to harrass others online, it does provide a tool to hurt others as Canada attempts to balance privacy and criminality in legislation related to use of the Internet. This abusive behaviour has exposed itself in anonymous and non-anonymous issues related to politics, where conversations are an exchange of abusive words in a desire to win or dominate rather than solve a problem. While many individuals are earnest in their desire to solve or improve political issues, the intent to help can be overshadowed by other aspects of human nature. Emotions can be high when one's beliefs are endangered by other individuals whose beliefs are contrary to their own. Efforts to understand can lead to frustration and/or cynicism in trying to express oneself and make a difference in an ocean of online activity. I believe the beginning to improving online communication starts at the individual level. I believe that strong individuals build strong collective action and builds outwards to influence other people. Furthermore, I believe building a tool with a humanities specificity is what is needed. I believe in understanding oneself and one's motives for participating in the world and accepting those motives, perhaps at the consequence of being selfish, may ultimately manifest itself not as selfishness, but care. While there may be no economic or political demand for the humanities, I believe the humanities builds individuals, and those individuals can help produce conversations to engage with aspects of daily life and ongoingness that they otherwise could not have tackled. At the same time, I wonder why the humanities must defend itself when many of its disciplines can be practiced alongside the so-called realistic and pragmatic choices of business, engineering, computer science, and beyond. Ironically, this thesis is ultimately meant to show that the humanities is pragmatic. My 3. Alissa J. Rubin, \France Lets Workers Turn Off, Tune Out and Live Life," The New York Times, January 2, 2017, accessed August 23, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/02/ world/europe/france-work-email.html. 3 solution to building more effective online and offline communication is the philosophy of movement. I built the philosophy to aid in guiding oneself through politics and difference by building self-awareness. The philosophy of movement also delves into the complicated relationships between the individual and the world by deconstructing actions and events through affect theory. The philosophy behaves as not only a set of values to practice, but why and how these values are important and their significant relationship to the world we inhabit. The goal of this thesis is to: 1. Introduce and explain the philosophy of movement. 2. Introduce and explain the positives and negatives of online politics. 3. Through a case study, show how the philosophy of movement can be effective to communicate through difference online and enable reconciliation. In Chapter 1, I will explain the philosophy of movement. I will begin with the first foundational pillar, affect, by bringing together a string of definitions made by established theorists in the field such as Brian Massumi, Lauren Berlant, and Sarah Ahmed to build a cohesive understanding of the term. This is meant to later establish affect’s role in the production of events and the body's capacity to feel and act through them. For the second pillar, I will draw upon existentialism. While I reference and discuss notable existentialists such as Kierkegaard, de Beauvoir, and Sartre, my focus is Martin Heidegger's magnum opus, Being and Time. I draw upon these works to put together an understanding of existential \authenticity," because I believe critical self-awareness occurs when one becomes authentic. Finally, I will deconstruct the metaphor of movement which will allow me to put together how affect and existentialism build the philosophy.