Jane Bennett 講的是，「先生（綏靖舔共）遊南鎮，見巖中花樹」，
我講的是，「先生 (滅共次日）遊南鎮，遂為巖中花樹所見」，
Jane Bennett’s concept of impersonal sympathy in Vibrant Matter refers to a mode of ethical and affective engagement that transcends individual, personal attachments and instead cultivates an openness to the agency, vitality, and interconnectedness of the nonhuman world. This term highlights a way of relating to the world that is less focused on human-centered emotions or relationships and more attuned to the shared vibrancy of all matter.
Key Features of Impersonal Sympathy:
1. Recognition of Nonhuman Agency:
• Impersonal sympathy involves acknowledging the agency and liveliness of nonhuman entities, such as objects, plants, animals, and ecosystems.
• It encourages a sensitivity to how these entities affect and shape human and nonhuman lives alike.
2. Beyond Anthropocentrism:
• This form of sympathy moves away from anthropocentric frameworks that privilege human emotions, experiences, and concerns.
• It shifts attention to the “impersonal” forces that animate both living and nonliving matter.
3. Ethical and Aesthetic Attunement:
• Bennett sees impersonal sympathy as an ethical stance: a way of caring for the nonhuman world without reducing it to human-centered values.
• It also involves an aesthetic appreciation of the vitality and beauty of material forms, beyond their utility to humans.
4. Redistribution of Affect:
• Instead of directing feelings of sympathy only toward other humans or sentient beings, impersonal sympathy expands affective engagement to include nonhuman entities.
• For example, one might feel a sense of wonder, respect, or even empathy toward a river, a stone, or a decaying piece of trash.
5. Inspired by Spinoza:
• Bennett draws on Spinoza’s concept of affect and the interconnectedness of all things. For Spinoza, individual entities are part of a larger, impersonal substance, and their capacity to affect and be affected is not confined to personal relationships.
6. Ethical and Political Implications:
• Impersonal sympathy has practical implications for environmental ethics and politics. It asks us to reconsider how we interact with and care for the nonhuman world.
• By fostering a sense of solidarity with all matter, this concept supports more sustainable and ecologically attuned ways of living.
Example in Practice:
In Vibrant Matter, Bennett describes moments where objects or material phenomena evoke a sense of wonder or connection—such as a pile of trash or the vibrant energy of electrical grids. These examples demonstrate how impersonal sympathy can emerge in ordinary encounters, encouraging us to see the world not as a collection of inert resources but as a web of vibrant, interdependent forces.
Summary:
Impersonal sympathy is a way of opening oneself to the vibrancy and agency of the nonhuman world, fostering a broader sense of ethical and affective connection that moves beyond personal or anthropocentric frameworks. It challenges us to rethink our relationships with the material world in more inclusive and ecologically sensitive terms.
