How is meaning in our bodies constructed? To what extent is meaning in bodies innate, evolved through biological adaptations? To what extent is meaning in bodies culturally constructed? Does it change when we adorn ourselves in dress? In Adorning Bodies,Marilynn Johnsondraws on evolutionary theory and philosophy in order to think about art, beauty, and aesthetics.
Considering meaning in bodies and bodily adornment, she explores how the ways we use our bodies are similar to ― yet at other times different from ― animals. Johnson engages with the work of evolutionary theorists, philosophers of language, and cultural theorists ― Charles Darwin, H. P. Grice, and Roland Barthes respectively ― to examine both natural and non-natural meanings. She addresses how both systems of meaning signify relevant information to other humans, with respect to both bodies and clothes. Johnson also demonstrates that how we dress could negatively influence the way our bodies can be read, and how some humans and animals use their bodies to deceive.
Author(s): Marilynn Johnson
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 224
City: London
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Illustrations
Figures
Tables
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Meaning in Bodies and Adornment
Introduction
Mind and Body
Interpretations
A House Finch Communicates
Bodily Communication in Homo sapiens
Overview of the Book
Chapter 2: Taking Adornment Seriously: Structuralism and Meaning
Chapter 3: Details on the Gricean View
Chapter 4: Deception in the Human and Animal Worlds: Imitation of Natural Meaning and Lying with Non-Natural Meaning
Chapter 5: Darwin on Animal Bodies
Chapter 6: Human Sexual Selection
Chapter 7: The Evolution of Bodily Adornment: Signaling and Meaning-Making in Prehistory
Chapter 8: Emotions: Information, Misperception, Suppression, Expression
Chapter 9: On Beauty: Aesthetic Choices, Adornment, and Art
A Personal Theory
A Word on Fashion
What Meanings Do
Chapter 2: Taking Adornment Seriously: Structuralism and Meaning
Introduction
Adornment: The Object of Inquiry
The Functions of Adornment
Adornment and Fashion
“Adornment”
The Explananda
Adornment as Protected “Speech”
Dress and the Code Model
A More Nuanced Account of Meaning
Natural Meaning and Imitation of Natural Meaning
Structuralism versus Intentionalism
Black Armbands of Mourning
The Bulldogs
The Requirements for Natural Meaning
Natural Meaning and Truth
Natural Meaning and Bodies
The Nature of Natural Meaning
The Distinction between Natural and Non-Natural Meaning
Chapter 3: Details on the Gricean View
Intro
Word Meaning and Speaker Meaning
Grice on Cooperation and Implicature
Implicature in Adornment
Anything Can Mean Anything
Mistaken about Meaning
Nonlinguistic Communication
Personal Stylists
Uniforms
“Slaves” to Fashion
Adornment Is “Mere” Imitation
Conventions
Saying Nothing
“I don’t think about what I wear”
Artifice
Chapter 4: Deception in the Human and Animal Worlds: Imitation of Natural Meaning and Lying with Non-Natural Meaning
Introduction
A Compulsive Con Man
Lying and Deception through Dress
Imitation of Natural Meaning
Imitation of Natural Meaning in Non-Human Animals
The Evolution of Imitative Adornment
Chapter 5: Darwin on Animal Bodies
Introduction
Natural Selection
Natural Selection and Deception
Natural Selection and Mimicry
Deceptive Behaviors
Sexual Selection
Peacock’s Feathers
Unconscious Selection
On the Matter of Female Choice: “Maleness” Held “Hostage”
Chapter 6: Human Sexual Selection
Introduction
Ladies and Feathers
The Handicap Principle
Darwin on Diversity in Sexual Preference
Sexual Selection, Adornment, and Natural Meaning
Natural Meaning and Adornment
Female Preference for Certain Traits
Adornment and Co-evolution
Natural and Sexual Selection in Bodily Adornment
School Dress Codes
The Stonewall Riots
Nightclub Dress Codes
Reappropriation and Metalinguistic Negotiation
Crinolines and Slutwalks
SlutWalks
Chapter 7: The Evolution of Bodily Adornment: Signaling and Meaning-Making in Prehistory
Introduction
Imitation of Natural Meaning in the Middle Ages
Imitation of Natural Meaning in Ancient Egypt
Imitation of Natural Meaning in Prehistory: Red Ochre
Interpreting Prehistory
Peircean Interpretation in Archaeology: The Case of Qafzeh Cave
Functional or Symbolic: A False Dichotomy
Non-Natural Meaning in Human Adornment
The Case of Shell Beads: Stiner
Uniquely Human?
Is Adornment Uniquely Human?
Cephalopod Color Change
Wallowing
Neanderthal Adornment?
The Significance of Meaning in Prehistoric Bodily Adornment
Chapter 8: Emotions: Information, Misperception, Suppression, and Expression
The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals
Drawing on the Body in Literature
Expression and Adornment in Darwin’s Work
The Mind Informs the Body
The Body Informs the Mind
A Psychology of the Body: PTSD
A Psychology of the Body: Depression
Our Body Talks to Us
Coming Back to Language: Affect and Utterances
What Hoodies Mean
Can We Change This?
Meaning of Garments Changes with the Wearer
Adornment and Perception of Race
Chapter 9: On Beauty: Aesthetic Choices, Adornment, and Art
Introduction
Prum’s Account
Animal Art
Prum’s Account
Relevant Questions
Beauty and Desire
Turner or Tinder
Sexual Selection, Sexual Dimorphism, and Our Bodies
Pornography
Language Not Excluded
Intentions
The True Aim of Aesthetics
Beauty and Co-evolution
Co-evolution and the Distinction between Natural and Non-Natural Meaning
Art and Bodily Adornment
Adornment and Art
Beauty through Choice
Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
References
Index
