Forget the environment, imagine with milieu

ENThe paper juxtaposes an analysis of two terms: ‘milieu’ and ‘environment’. As it can be seen in Serres’ thought, the idea of ‘environment’ primarily points to the distinction from the individual and operates on the basis of isolationist approach. Conversely, the concept of ‘milieu’ displays the features of interconnectedness, entanglement and mediation. By projecting the biological understanding of symbiosis within a framework of Simondon’s theory of imagination, I argue that ‘milieu’ can be conceptualized as both ontological and epistemological gateway for the inclusion of and the interaction with heterogeneity – the aspect that becomes important in critically revising the role of human exceptionalism and the anthropological relationship to other species. Subsequently, the relational and transitional potential of the milieu may be interpreted through the lens of the problem of symbiotic transitions that open the space for negotiation between interacting species.