Ritual Mimicry: A Path to Concept Comprehension
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Ritual Mimicry: A Path to Concept Comprehension Pauline Delahaye 1 Received: 3 December 2017 / Accepted: 8 November 2018/ # Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Mimicry in the animal kingdom mostly consists of two major types: by appearance or by behaviour. Although these are not the only ones, they will be the main focus of this article. We will develop two purposes of behavioural mimicry in animal death rituals (what we have called Britual mimicry^): how it helps understanding a complex concept, and how it teaches to manage intense emotions. We will first show how ritual mimicry is a logical step in the evolution of appearance mimicry and why it can be a major advantage for the species that are able to use it. We will give a brief explanation of the importance of the notion of semiosis in behavioural mimicry. In a few words, we will also describe what a ritual is, how to recognize it and what its different features are. Then, for the first purpose, we will show how understanding what death is, or at least, what it is not – not sleep, nor illness – is difficult. This process starts through mimicry, which raises awareness in the young that a major event is occurring. For the second purpose, we will show how mimicry helps the young learn ritual behaviours and gestures which help distressed adults with managing their emotions in these situations. As such, mimicry is also a way to learn this emotional behaviour management, enabling the young – and future adult – to be less distressed when confronted with loss. Keywords Biosemiotics . Emotions . Ritual . Conceptual comprehension . Behavioural
mimicry
Introduction In the diverse landscape of biology and biosciences, Bmimicry^ is a single word which can be used to talk about very different, yet related, subjects. The most common meaning is an ability used to fool a prey or a predator – even sometimes a sexual rival – by taking the appearance of another animal, or plant, or stone, sand etc. (Maran 2017, chapter 1.2). In this meaning, mimicry is not an ability solely found in animal kingdom;
* Pauline Delahaye [email protected]
1
Paris Sorbonne University (Paris 4), EA 4509 Paris, France
Delahaye P.
a lot of plants, for example, are using it. It is often a genetic characteristic; this kind of imitation is for the most part something the animal cannot influence: it is born this way, looking similar to a dangerous serpent or predatory bird, and there is nothing to be done about it. Sometimes, the mimicry goes further, as the mimicking animal is also adapting its behaviour – walking, screaming, moving – to make it even more look alike the animal it is copying (Ruxton et al. 2004, 139). In this example, in particular with complex animals like mammals or birds, mimicry can be seen as a conscious, but not yet voluntary behaviour. At this point, the border between the genetic and irremovable part of mimicry and a more conscious and voluntary part starts to blur, because it is difficult to tell exactly which part of this behavioural adaptation is purely instinctive
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