to escape personhood relies on experience of personhood
is worry a human trait
living without the ‘trappings and complexities’ of civilisation - but also without the benefits, unless you are to bond and communicate fully sufficiently with your new herd
‘treading lightly on the earth’ in some times and places humans have done that, and humans can again if intentional
to cause no suffering - this isn’t true for many creatures
to be absorbed in your surroundings - we can achieve that at times
“an exoskeleton that would undo 5 million years of human evolution and adapt my bipedal anatomy to that of a quadruped” interesting that he is considering it a backward/undoing rather than a sideways/new path
also prosthetic stomach and retraining the senses - adjusting as many bodily processes as seems necessary for ‘experience’ but how far is too far, is it only what is temporary, but there are scales of temporary and different lengths people are willing to go to for art, links to transhumanism
“transcranial magnetic stimulation to switch off the forward planning and language centre” is non-language animalistic?? non-verbal people may disagree? non-language communication is common in humans but not something artificially, it is interesting that it is possible and to consider whether sometimes desirable
is brain alteration ‘acceptable’ body modification? (Even to those with extreme acceptance of body modification and self-determination). Again with levels of temporary/permanent
you couldn’t become a creature that doesn’t walk the same walk as you, exist in the same landscapes you’re familiar with
Annette continues: “So in a way, it starts through cold imitation. But then you can enter into this ‘between-the-worlds state,’ or ‘trans-ecstasy’ or ‘changed state of consciousness.’”
“These people know the animal. They have been following and watching and remembering the life and the way of it their whole lives. It’s in their bones.”
“the word [shamanism] originally comes from Siberia and is now used to describe similar practices found in cultures indigenous to every part of the globe”