A Thought without Puppeteer: Ethics of Dramatization and Selection of Becomings

Abstract

In order to understand how Deleuze's method of dramatization is ‘not privileging mankind in any way’, this article turns to the figure of the marionette as it is discreetly, but consistently, developed thorough Deleuze's books. Inspired by Kleist's On the Marionette Theatre, this marionette figure claims for a rhizomatic approach to the subject, defined by the lines it draws into space and exercising its freedom in the present of Aion through spatio-temporal dynamisms similar to those of Leibniz's monads. The strange freedom developed by marionettes also leads to an examination of Nietzsche's ‘eternal return’, which is at the core of Deleuze's elaboration of the method of dramatization. Combining Nietzsche's eternal return with the characteristics of Deleuzian marionettes then requires us to revisit the famous concept of ‘becoming’: becomings are selective, both methodologically and ontologically.

‘Breath, Belief, Focus, Touch’: Applied puppetry in simulated role-play for person-centred nursing education

“…Used in these ways, a puppet becomes a transactional object through which a person can express themselves, engage in shared decision-making and enhance their sense of agency within healthcare contexts. While these approaches have clear benefits, we argue that a more 'translational' model of applied puppetry, such as those suggested by Smith (2015) or Wiame (2016b), may be more effective for PCN pedagogy, particularly considering the importance of the concept of personhood.…”

“…There is a focus on horizontal networks and interconnections; power comes from in-between, from connections to other parts of the system. Wiame (2016b) describes four principles of Deleuze's marionette theatre: the rhizomatic principle of immanence, where the puppet has no puppeteer; the linear principle, where marionettes develop a spatial, non-psychological, subjectivity; the dramatizing principle, where the freedom of a puppet is made up of spatio-temporal dynamism; and the selective principle, where puppets and automata mime the temporality of thought, they "act" as if they are thinking. (Wiame 2016b: 37-42) These four principles resonate with those used at UU of Breath, Belief, Focus and Touch and supports the use of the Deleuzian Rhizome in applied puppetry.…”