"Aphanipoiesis (n.) combines two words from ancient Greek to describe this way in which life coalesces toward vitality in unseen ways. Aphanis comes from a Greek root meaning “obscured, unseen, unnoticed;” poiesis is from one meaning “to bring forth, to make.” Other words which also carry the root aphanis include “phantom,” “diaphanous,” and “phenomenon,” while the root poiesis is familiar from the word “poetry,” along with Maturana and Varela’s autopoiesis.
According to Peirce, abduction is the process of forming an explanatory hypothesis and is the only logical operation that introduces any new idea. Central to the abductive process is the notion of hypothesis. But what does a hypothesis say about the anticipatory systems of perception of any given observer? In noticing aphanipoiesis, exploring the realm of unseen contributors coalescing to produce the foundations of the hypothesis itself becomes relevant. The hypothesis is limited by pre-existing anticipatory patterns. If one listens only for what one knows to listen for, that is what will be heard. In the study of aphanipoiesis, the hypothesis is an indicator of those pre-habituated perceptions through which new information will be filtered. Familiarity with something in one context enables a kind of description of another context to become a basis for experiencing any kind of newness. A new flavor is explored through the experience of known flavors; a new form of music is explored by understanding other forms. Ultimately, the abductive process becomes a zone of untamed, unnamed, unseen, and essential contributors to what may later be called emergence. "
According to Peirce, abduction is the process of forming an explanatory hypothesis and is the only logical operation that introduces any new idea. Central to the abductive process is the notion of hypothesis. But what does a hypothesis say about the anticipatory systems of perception of any given observer? In noticing aphanipoiesis, exploring the realm of unseen contributors coalescing to produce the foundations of the hypothesis itself becomes relevant. The hypothesis is limited by pre-existing anticipatory patterns. If one listens only for what one knows to listen for, that is what will be heard. In the study of aphanipoiesis, the hypothesis is an indicator of those pre-habituated perceptions through which new information will be filtered. Familiarity with something in one context enables a kind of description of another context to become a basis for experiencing any kind of newness. A new flavor is explored through the experience of known flavors; a new form of music is explored by understanding other forms. Ultimately, the abductive process becomes a zone of untamed, unnamed, unseen, and essential contributors to what may later be called emergence. "
- Nora Bateson (1968 - )
Aphanipoiesis
