Maybe the difference between creative manipulation and its ‘sinister’ sibling lies in what it is that is being manipulated. We work with ('handle') physical materials, or ideas, or (in my case) photographic images, to express ourselves or meet a need. But when we manipulate other sentient beings, we are treating them as objects rather than as subjects with their own vision and agency.
Hey! I like that thought, but it did get me thinking about psychology and therapeutic modalities as a counter-argument. (I'm sure you have much to say on this, but don't you think that the therapist is, by this definition, doing a form of manipulation? I.e. they are working with the given materials to alter the felt/lived experience, or at least the perception of that experience?)
Hey Finn – You are so right! In fact, any kind of healing is manipulation. I guess what makes the difference is whether the intention is to support life, but that is another messy can of worms. The closer one looks, the less black-and-white, cut-and-dried, it gets.
Maybe the difference between creative manipulation and its ‘sinister’ sibling lies in what it is that is being manipulated. We work with ('handle') physical materials, or ideas, or (in my case) photographic images, to express ourselves or meet a need. But when we manipulate other sentient beings, we are treating them as objects rather than as subjects with their own vision and agency.
Hey! I like that thought, but it did get me thinking about psychology and therapeutic modalities as a counter-argument. (I'm sure you have much to say on this, but don't you think that the therapist is, by this definition, doing a form of manipulation? I.e. they are working with the given materials to alter the felt/lived experience, or at least the perception of that experience?)
Hey Finn – You are so right! In fact, any kind of healing is manipulation. I guess what makes the difference is whether the intention is to support life, but that is another messy can of worms. The closer one looks, the less black-and-white, cut-and-dried, it gets.
hahah yes! That's what I love so much about words.