The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

An approach that emphasizes living in accordance with the natural features, ecosystems, and climatic conditions of a particular region, bioregionalism is a concept that Abram references to advocate a mode of living that respects and adapts to the land’s inherent characteristics rather than imposing arbitrary political or economic boundaries. Bioregionalism calls for a deep understanding of and adaptation to local ecological contexts, promoting sustainability and a more meaningful connection to place.

The term “ecology of magic” refers to the interconnected and mutually influential relationships that humans share with the natural world, as understood by Indigenous and traditional societies. Abram posits that magic, in this context, is not supernatural but deeply rooted in the ecological knowledge and sensory experiences of these cultures. It encompasses the ways in which humans interact with and understand their environment through rituals, storytelling, and direct sensory engagement, revealing a sophisticated ecological wisdom. This concept challenges the modern dismissal of such practices as mere superstition, instead highlighting their role in maintaining ecological balance and fostering a harmonious coexistence with nature.

The concept of embodiment is central to Abram’s argument, emphasizing the significance of the bodily, sensory experience of being in the world. Contrasting with intellectual or abstract engagements, embodiment highlights the primacy of direct, physical experience as a way of knowing and interacting with the environment. Abram contends that modern society’s disconnection from the natural world is partly due to a neglect of embodied ways of understanding, and he urges a return to a more grounded, corporeal presence in the world.

Although not Abram’s original concept, he invokes the Gaia hypothesis to illustrate the earth as a self-regulating, complex system in which the biosphere and physical components form a feedback-driven system. This idea supports Abram’s view of the deep interdependence between human life and Earth’s systems, challenging the anthropocentric perspective that sees humans as separate or dominant over nature.

Abram delves into the intimate relationship between language and the natural landscape, proposing that human speech and linguistic structures are deeply influenced by the physical and sensory characteristics of the environments that humans inhabit. He argues that in oral cultures, language is a living, dynamic medium that emerges from and reflects a community’s engagement with its surroundings. However, the advent of written language and literacy has abstracted and distanced language from its ecological roots, contributing to the modern alienation from the natural world. Abram supports reintegrating language with the sensuous landscape, suggesting that such an approach can revitalize connection to the earth.

Abram explores the transition from oral to literate cultures and its impact on human perception and environmental interaction. He posits that oral cultures maintain a closer, more engaged relationship with their environment through storytelling and spoken language, while literacy and the written word introduce a level of abstraction that distances humans from direct, participatory engagement with their surroundings.

This concept describes a dynamic, reciprocal relationship between the perceiver and the perceived, wherein perception itself is an interactive process. Abram argues that human perception is not passive reception of stimuli but active engagement with the world, blurring the distinctions between subject and object, human and nonhuman. This participatory mode of perception suggests that the senses are in constant dialogue with the environment, shaping and being shaped by it, and underscores the interconnectedness of all beings while challenging the notion of human separateness from nature.