Notes [1] Edwards, Paul, ed. New York: Macmillian, Oxford: Oxford University Press, New York: Routeledge, xiii. Children's behavior is a prime example of the manner in which mimetic behavior is not restricted to man imitating man - in which the "child plays at being not only a shopkeeper or teacher but also a windmill and a train" Walter Benjamin, Reflections , p.
New York: Schocken Books, One need only think of mimicry. His gift of seeing resemblances is nothing other than a rudiment of the powerful compulsion in former times to become and behave like something else. Perhaps there is none of his higher functions in which his mimetic faculty does not play a decisive role.
The term mimesis is derived from the Greek mimesis , meaning to imitate [1]. The OED defines mimesis as "a figure of speech, whereby the words or actions of another are imitated" and "the deliberate imitation of the behavior of one group of people by another as a factor in social change" [2]. Mimicry is defined as "the action, practice, or art of mimicking or closely imitating Both terms are generally used to denote the imitation or representation of nature, especially in aesthetics primarily literary and artistic media.
Within Western traditions of aesthetic thought, the concepts of imitation and mimesis have been central to attempts to theorize the essence of artistic expression, the characteristics that distinguish works of art from other phenomena, and the myriad of ways in which we experience and respond to works of art. In most cases, mimesis is defined as having two primary meanings - that of imitation more specifically, the imitation of nature as object, phenomena, or process and that of artistic representation.
Mimesis is integral to the relationship between art and nature, and to the relation governing works of art themselves. Michael Taussig describes the mimetic faculty as "the nature that culture uses to create second nature, the faculty to copy, imitate, make models, explore difference, yield into and become Other. The wonder of mimesis lies in the copy drawing on the character and power of the original, to the point whereby the representation may even assume that character and that power.
Mimetic behavior was viewed as the representation of "something animate and concrete with characteristics that are similar to the characteristics to other phenomena" [6]. Plato believed that mimesis was manifested in 'particulars' which resemble or imitate the forms from which they are derived; thus, the mimetic world the world of representation and the phenomenological world is inherently inferior in that it consists of imitations which will always be subordinate or subsidiary to their original [7].
In addition to imitation, representation, and expression, mimetic activity produces appearances and illusions that affect the perception and behavior of people. In Republic , Plato views art as a mimetic imitation of an imitation art mimes the phenomenological world which mimes an original, "real" world ; artistic representation is highly suspect and corrupt in that it is thrice removed from its essence. The building is not just the arrogant and callous mimesis of one particular 'style'.
Like a painter striving for perfect mimesis , an embodied consciousness might use patches of red in the head to represent a red apple. The most common is low mimesis , in which the actions of others are deemed, like "ours," to be ordinary and unexciting. The frightening reality is that mimesis cuts both ways. The contrast between discovery and invention, or the degree of intervention of the composer provides another dimension for the articulation of mimesis.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of mimesis? Browse mime. Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes.
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