Jessica Clay // JellySansCanIcy

I was reading an excerpt from Katherine Hayles' book "How We Became Post-Human" for my post-human bodies class and came across the term 'epihenomenalism' which is a view that mental phenomena are ephenomenon in that they can be caused by physical phenomena but cannon cause physical phenomena. In strong ephenomenalism, this is very strict in that physical can only cause mental and mental cannot ever cause physical. This further explains that some or all mental states are simply by-products of the physical (ex. the brain, the nervous system)

The assignment is to make a 60 second self-portrait video using a doppleganger which is supposed to either literally or abstractly represent the self.

I am thinking about creating a comical scenario in which my mental self and my physical self are represented in a conflict in which the physical is trying to prove she is in complete control of the mental self.

I have not yet started on the construction of the doppleganger for the video but I am thinking about using myself and a constructed form to represent the two states of being. I want to give them stereotyped characteristics and kind of low brow comedic costumes like a flamboyant old lady for the mental state and for the physical - some sort of character who is only concerned with eating and excreting.

Here is a blog that discusses a good argument against epiphenomenalism.