Defining the other as lack incorporates it into the master’s self, precluding real recognition

Evidence

The definition of the other in relation to the self as a lack or absence is a special case of incorporation, defining the other only in relation to the self, or the self’s needs and desires. Because the other is defined and perceived in relation to the master, he or she is not encountered fully as an independent other, and the qualities attributed or perceived are those which reflect the master’s desires, needs and lacks. As Irigaray notes, woman is construed not as occupying a space on her own account, but as enclosing a space for another (1984:3). Similarly the role of the ‘noble savage’ is to be a foil: he or she is seen as possessing all the good qualities thought to be missing in ‘civilisation’, when this is regarded negatively, and as lacking all the social virtues, when it is regarded positively. Since qualities or activities which do not fit into the scheme are ignored or denied, an other so perceived cannot provide resistance or boundary for the self. The other is recognised only to the extent that it is assimilated to the self, or incorporated into the self and its systems of desires and needs: only as colonised by the self. The master consciousness cannot tolerate unassimilated otherness. — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 215

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains ‘incorporation/relational definition’ — a defining characteristic of dualism alongside radical exclusion.
• XREF: The noble-savage-as-foil point links to Merchant’s nature as a projection screen, and to the polyad thread on how environmental narratives project onto land/place. — connects to: The master’s belief in the slave’s inessentiality is an illusion masking real dependency — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 199; Classical logic’s negation models the master’s account of otherness as lack — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 231; Expanding the self to include others still denies their distinctness — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 681 (+2 more)
• recurring: this claim recurs 2 times within its source

Broader Connections

• The master’s belief in the slave’s inessentiality is an illusion masking real dependency #expands (0.78) — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 199
• Expanding the self to include others still denies their distinctness #expands (0.75) — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 681
• The master relates to others as interchangeable class members, never as particular individuals #expands (0.75) — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 221
• Classical logic’s negation models the master’s account of otherness as lack #exemplifies (0.72) — Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, 231