Disturbance in representation: are there conditions of cultural adversity and felicity (the Theuth Effect)?

Résumé 0

I define the concept of “disturbance” in representation as the feeling of a functional and recurring inadequacy between the represented thing and the corresponding mental image. This inadequacy is manifested by the difficulty, and sometimes by the inability, of elaborating representations allowing, on the one hand, the best possible communication between individuals and, on the other hand, the optimal understanding of the consequences of our activity. The causes of this inadequacy may be pathological, social, or cultural. I analyse some of these cultural causes. In the first part of the article, I will provide a reminder of the main cognitive pillars of representation. Then, I will argue that the disturbance concerns not so much the representation itself as the undermining of these pillars, notably the faculty of attention. Finally, in the third and last part, I consider the hypothesis of a cultural variability of the disturbance, advancing the notions of cultural adversity and cultural felicity.