From Boredom to Training: Rethinking Life in Terms of Agamben and Merleau-Ponty

本研究處理的是動物園引用方舟隱喻之生命政治意涵。現代動物園時常以方舟隱喻來聲明其保育任務，然而我想提出的是，即便拯救瀕危物種的任務看似名正言順，出於聖經典故的方舟隱喻其實沒有脫離人本中心思維，而將人類視為動物界中唯一能拯救其他物種的生物。因此我希望能以後人觀點重新檢視方舟隱喻。論文中將討論動物園動物因煩聊而出現的異常刻版行為，試著說明動物園與方舟的連結揭露的是現代生命政治的欲望，意圖將生命拆解為適於管理的單位，因此我們需要的是另一種看待生命的方式，以及新的共存倫理。職是之故，我將檢視阿岡本在《開啟》當中如何批判海德格所提之「深沉煩聊」（profound boredom）概念，藉以突顯方舟隱喻之生命政治欲望。「深沉煩聊」對海氏而言是揭櫫動物性／人性絕對界限之重要經驗，但阿岡本卻對其人本主義感到不滿，進而提出另類倫理的開展乃在於人性／動物性辯證之「閑怠」（inactivity）。針對兩位哲學家的爭論，我將嘗試探討現代動物園因應刻版行為之策略─行為訓練─並借用梅洛龐蒂所論之行為與身體圖示來思考訓練的意義，重新分析「深沉煩聊」，希望藉由訓練當中一再重覆練習而建立起來的動物管理員－動物的關係來說明，自然與文化、動物性與人性、行為與風姿之間的界線其實十分模糊。這正呼應海洛崴的說法：訓練不應一再被污名化為宰制的關係，而是將參與者拉進一「接觸地帶」的共同流變過程。我希望這樣的討論有助於重思煩聊，並反省動物性／人性的關係，進而指向一另類的共存倫理。

關鍵字

動物研究；訓練；阿岡本；梅洛龐蒂；生命政治；動物園

並列摘要

This study deals with the biopolitical implications of the ark metaphor, which the modern zoo often employs to explicate its role in conservation. I would like to argue that, even though the implication of saving endangered species seems to be a praiseworthy move away from human-centered values, the metaphor, recalling its biblical allusion of Noah's Ark, is laden with the humanistic assumption that man is the only species in the animal kingdom capable of saving the others. My suggestion is that a reinvestigation of the ark metaphor be conducted through the posthuman perspective. Beginning from the examination of various abnormal behaviors caused by boredom, which are commonly observed in zoo animals, I contend that the connection between zoo and ark reveals the desire of modern biopolitics, which endeavors to subordinate ”lives” as manageable units. An alternative way of seeing life and a new ethics of co-existence, therefore, are needed. I suggest that we look into Agamben's discontent with Heidegger's assertion of the absolute gap between animality and humanity made obvious in the experience of profound boredom in ”The Open”. Challenging Heidegger's humanism, Agamben suggests that an alternative ethics lies in the ”inactivity” of the dialect between humanity and animality. In this study, I purpose to find the solution through Merleau-Ponty's concept of behavior and body schema, and I will also try to examine training, which is practiced often in modern zoos for the purpose of solving the problem of boredom. I will argue that, in training, the repetitive practice which cultivates certain behaviors and establishes keeper-animal relationships, one could see how the boundary between nature and culture, animality and humanity, behavior and comportment is blurred. Refuting the traditional stigmatized concept of training, Donna Haraway contends that, rather than a relationship of dominion, it draws the participants into a contact zone in which the process of ”becoming with” is enacted. This, I hope, might shed light on the phenomenon of boredom and the related discussions about the relationship between animality and humanity.

並列關鍵字

animal studies ； training ； Agamben ； Merleau-Ponty ； biopolitics ； zoo

參考文獻

Bostock, Stephen St. C. Zoos and Animals Rights: The Ethics of Keeping Animals. London: Routledge, 1993. Print. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9780203408810

Buchanan, Brett. Onto-Ethologies: The Animal Environments of Uexkűll, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, and Deleuze. Albany, NY: State U of New York P, 2008. Print.

Carmen, Taylor. “Sensation, Judgment, and the Phenomenal Field.” Carman and Hansen 50-73. Print. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CCOL0521809894.003

Carmen, Taylor, and Mark B. N. Hansen, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Merleau-Ponty. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2005. Print.

Cataldi, Sue L. Emotion, Depth, and Flesh: A Study of Sensitive Space: Reflections on Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Embodiment. Albany, NY: State U of New York P, 1993. Print.

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From Boredom to Training: Rethinking Life in Terms of Agamben and Merleau-Ponty

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