There was once an old man named Nahokoboni. He suffered because he had no daughters: who would protect him if he had no father-in-law? Being a wizard thus made a daughter for himself, deriving her from a plum tree.
From a fairy tale of the Indians of Guiana.
Abstract
In a cultural setting in which the imitation of nature continues to be regulated by the ambitious project to cancel the dividing line between the natural and the artificial, man continues to find space for his replicative fantasies, even at the cost of breaking cultural boundaries and taboos. On the other hand, as shown in the historical analogy, this ambition, aimed not only at a partial reproduction but a true replication, seems to exhibit developmental contours that lead to the same final results in terms of disillusionment and subsequent abandonment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In the context of this paper, the term kitsch has to be understood as special low level aesthetic category but not necessarily as something trivial as it prevails in the English culture.
In general terms, we define a product kitsch if it originated from an attempt to sum up or synthesise multiple levels of observation of an object present in nature or culture, without any coordination between them. A strictly aesthetic definition can also be that proposed by Dorfles (1990), who defines kitsch as a type of production that refers to uncertain rules of taste. According to Dorfles, in the production of kitsch it is possible to trace an opaque, sentimental and ambiguous memory of the original that inspired it.
Sallmann (1994) tells of an incredible removal, which took place in 1711, of the breast of the Franciscan monk Bonaventura of Potenza. At the end of the funeral, the guardian monk appropriated, with the help of a surgeon named Giuseppe Ippolito, the left nipple of the saint.
It should be remembered that notwithstanding this, such a custom was in use among the Romans, who, in order to renew the memory of deceased relatives or deities, modelled figurines in white wax with coloured faces, to which they added organic parts of the dead. Such doubles were placed in special niches in the lobbies of homes from which they were removed to renew the ‘physical’ presence of a loved one, who, having ‘passed to a better life’, could not be present at an important family event.
“Onde di mestiero t’è, a volere un uomo tutto ignudo o donna, prima farlo stare in piè in su’l fondo di una cassetta, la quale farai lavorare di altezza dell’uomo per infino al mento; e fa’ che la detta cassa si commetta o vero si scommetta in tutto per lo mezzo dall’un de’ lati, e dall’altro per lunghezza. Ordina che una piastra di rame ben sottile sia dal mezzo della spalla, cominciando all’orecchie, per insino in su’l fondo della cassa: e vada circondando leggiermente sanza lesione su per la carne dello ignudo, non accostandosi alla carne una corda. E sia chiavata la detta piastra in su l’orlo, dove si commette la detta cassa. E per questo modo cava quattro pezzi di piastra, che vegnino a conchiudere insieme, siccome faranno gli orli della cassa. Poi ugni lo’gnudo: mettilo ritto nella detta cassa: intridi del gesso abbondantemente, con acqua ben tiepida; e sia con compagnia, che se empi il dinanzi dell’uomo, che il compagno empia dirieto, acciò che a un medesimo tempo la cassa vegna piena per infino coperta la gola. Però che’l viso, siccome t’ho mostro, puoi fare di per sè. Lascia posare il detto gesso tanto, che sia bene rassodato. Poi apri e scommetti la cassa, e metti alcuni ingegni e scarpelli tra gli orli della cassa e le piastre di rame o di ferro che abbi fatto: e aprila, sì come facessi una noce, tenendo dall’un lato e dall’altro i detti pezzi della cassa e della impronta che hai fatta. E moderatamente ne trai fuori lo’gnudo: lavalo diligentemente con acqua chiara; chè sarà diventata la carne sua colorita come rosa. E a quel modo ancora, quando impronti la faccia, la predetta forma o vero impronta tu la puoi buttare di ciò che metallo tu vuoi; ma io ti consiglio di cera. La ragione: fa’ pure che rompa la pasta senza lesione della figura, perchè tu puoi levare, aggiungere, e rimendare dove la figura mancasse. Appresso di questo puoi aggiugnervi la testa; e buttare ogni cosa insieme, e tutta la persona: e per lo simile di membro in membro spezzatamente puoi improntare; cioè un braccio, una mano, un piè, una gamba, un uccello, una bestia, e d’ogni condizione animale, pesci, e altri animali simili. Ma vogliono essere morti, perchè non avriano il senno naturale, nè la fermezza di star fermi e saldi.” Cennino Cennini, Il Libro dell’Arte, o Trattato della pittura di Cennino Cennini, edited by Gaetano & Carlo Milanesi, Le Monnier, Florence (1859).
Mori’s hypothesis results from an empirical research centred the relationship between a human and a robot. It argues that a moderate anthropomorphism activates a sense of familiarity. By contrast, an excessive similarity between man and robot can transform the familiarity from positive into negative. In short, a ‘pathetically’ human physical aspect makes the differences even more obvious and unacceptable. For this reason, Mori suggests the design of less realistic robots. It is curious that among the first to show themselves to be sensitive to his model have been the animated film authors, who, fearing inviting feelings of distress or refusal among the public, have chosen not to pursue excessive ‘naturalness’ in their characters.
References
Baldinucci F (1693) Notizie de’professori del disegno da Cimabue in qua. Studio per le edizioni scelte, Firenze, 1974–1975
Bellasi P (2009) Signore e signori, il corpo! In: Corà B, Bellasi P (eds) Corpo, automi, robot: tra arte, scienza e tecnologia. Mazzotta, Milano
Bertasio D (2012) Disarmonie: Il caso del Kitsch. Liguori, Napoli
Cordeschi R (1989) La scoperta dell’artificiale: psicologia, filosofia e macchina intorno alla cibernetica. Masson, Milano
Cennini C (1933) The craftsman's handbook: the italian "Il libro dell'arte" translated by Daniel V. Thompson jr. Dover, New York
De Ceglia FP (2005) The rotten, the disembowelled woman, the skinned man: body images from Eighteenth century Florentine wax modelling. J Sci Commun 4(3):1–7
De Sade, DAF (1977) Voyage d'Italie. In: De Sade DAF (1962–1977) Œuvres complètes du Marquis de Sade, vol. XVI. Au cercle du livre précieux, Paris
Diderot D (1765) Salon de 1765. In: Diderot D (1875) Œuvres complètes de Diderot, vol X, p 422. Garnier, Paris
Dorfles G (ed) (1990) Il Kitsch: antologia del cattivo gusto. Mazzotta, Milano
Duffy BR (2002) Anthropomorphism and robotics. In: The society for the study of artificial intelligence and the simulation of behaviour—AISB 2002 Convention, Imperial College, England, April 3–5
Fink J (2012) Anthropomorphism and human likeness in the design of robots and human-robot interaction. In: Shuzhi Sam Ge et al. (eds) Social robotics: 4th international conference, ICSR 2012, Chengdu, China, Oct 29–31, 2012: proceedings. Springer, New York
Freedberg D (1989) The power of images: studies in the history and theory of response. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Hoffman G, Weinberg G (2010) Synchronization in human-robot musicianship. In: Proceedings of the 19th IEEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN'10), Viareggio, Italy, Sept. 12–15, 2010
Kantorowicz EH (1957) The King's two bodies: a study in mediaeval political theology. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Kim MS, Sur J, Gong L (2009) Humans and humanoid social robots in communication contexts. AI Soc 24(4):317–325
Lanza B et al. (1979) Le cere anatomiche della Specola. Arnaud, Firenze
Mori M (1970) The uncanny valley / (2012) Translation from Japanese by MacDorman KF and Kagekin. IEEE Robot Autom Mag 19 (2):98–100
Murano P (2002) Anthropomorphic vs non-anthropomorphic software interface feedback for online systems usage. In: Carbonell N, Stephanidis C (eds) (2003) Universal access: theoretical perspectives, practice, and experience: 7th ERCIM international workshop on User interfaces for all, Paris, France, October 24–25, 2002: revised papers. Springer, New York
Negrotti M (2012) The reality of the artificial: nature, technology and naturoids. Springer, Berlin
Pugliara M (2003) Il mirabile e l'artificio: creature animate e semoventi nel mito e nella tecnica degli antichi. L'Erma di Bretschneider, Roma
Ramos AM, Gravagne IA, Walker ID (1999) Goldfinger: a non-anthropomorphic, dextrous robot hand. In: Proceedings of the 1999 IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, Detroit, Michigan, May 1999
Sallmann JM (1994) Naples et ses saints à l’age baroque (1540–1570). PUF, Paris. Italian translation: Santi barocchi: modelli di santità, pratiche devozionali e comportamenti religiosinel Regno di Napoli dal 1540 al 1750. Argo, Lecce, 1996
Vasari G (1991) Le vite de’ più eccellenti architetti, pittori, et scultori italiani, da Cimabue insino a’ tempi nostri. Einaudi, Torino
Warburg A (1901) Bildniskunst und Florentinisches Burgertum. Seemann, Leipzig
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bertasio, D. The anthropomorphic imperative: a historical analogy. AI & Soc 32, 591–598 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-016-0688-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-016-0688-x