Avel Guénin–Carlut

The Hypnotic Architecture of Social Reality

The peculiar aspect of [cult] conversion, however mind-crushing it may appear, is that it occurs without any visible form of force or coercion. [...] Rather than ordering the hypnotized to go into hypnotic trance, the Ericksonian hypnotist gently invites the hypnotized to pay attention to cues in their environment and progressively transitions to their internal bodily perception, while framing the sensations they predictably experience as proof that they are already in hypnotic trance. [...] The core premise of Melchior's account of hypnosis is quite clear—believing oneself to be in hypnotic trance is, in and of itself, what causes the induction of hypnotic trance.

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Avel Guénin–Carlut

Avel Guénin–Carlut studies cognitive science at the University of Sussex and the participatory lab Kairos Research, where they research the role of material culture in cognition. Their work focuses on the physics linking the “mere” dynamics of social and material cognition to the production of reality as agents experience it. They have developed case studies examining how social environments, such as the Unification Church, and material landscapes, such as the Serra do Barbanza, shape reality and cognitive organization through their mediating role in one’s experience of the world and of oneself.