Brian Massumi: “Animality and Abstraction“ | The Nonhuman Turn Conference, May 3, 2012

Brian Massumi (Philosophy, University of Montreal) delivers their talk, “Animality and Abstraction,“ at the Center for 21st Century Studies (UW - Milwaukee) on May 3, 2012, during The Nonhuman Turn Conference. Introduction by Rebekah Sheldon (0:00) Lecture (4:40) Q&A (50:00) Abstract: The aim of this talk is two-fold: to rethink the creative element in evolution as a positive mechanism governed by a radically different logic than that of adaptation. The analysis of creative evolution will begin from what might appear to be the least propitious starting point: instinct. Tinbergen’s discussion of “supernormal stimuli“ -- apparently maladaptive responses that follow a logic of intensity-seeking deformation generative of variation – will be used to extract instinct from the realm of stimulus-reflex response and resituate it in an aesthetic arena (Ruyer) alloyed with intuition (Bergson). This aesthetic element of animal life will be associated not with sexual selecti