This document discusses different approaches to understanding how humans perceive and construct perceptions of others, particularly enemies. It first discusses phenomenological and symbolic anthropological approaches to analyzing human perception and how culture influences what we see. It then examines how we perceive others and construct understandings of them, including how empathy, experience, fear and trust impact our views. Finally, it analyzes how perceptions of enemies versus friends are constructed online through symbols of hate or love.

1. ” Virtual Zones of Communication
and Conflict: How to Construct and
Enemy Online”
By Josepha Ivanka Wessels
University of Copenhagen

2. Phenomenological approach
• Visual Anthropology; human perception
informed by culture, religion, worldviews,
habitus, previous experience and cognition.
• Symbolic Anthropology; culture as system of
meaning deciphered by interpreting key
symbols and dreamed off orders (Geertz,
Douglas)

3. Phenomenological approach
• Edmond Husserl & Symbolic Anthropology;
intentionality and intersubjectivity
• The Other and Self, mutual understanding and
trading places, seeing the world from POV of
the Other
• The classical anthropological use of text has
been increasingly criticized because the visual
and the digital is nowadays part and parcel of
globalized lifeworlds

4. How do we see the Other ?
• Human perception is relative (Heisenberg)
• Observation and giving symbolic meaning
• Consciousness; what precisely do we see,
hear, feel and perceive ?
• Knowledge & Experience
• Fear & Trust
• Empathy & Compassion
• The image of the other

5. Empathy
• How do we empathize
with others ?
• Why can a single grainy
photo of a murdered
lion go viral whilst the
many pictures of Syrian
casualties of war do
not ?

7. Civilian Casualties in Syria
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Government
Forces
Kurdish Forces Armed
Opposition
Factions
ISIS An-Nussra
Front
Jund Al-Aqsa Other Cases
Men
Children
Women
Under Torture
Civilian December 2014 Death Toll
Source: Syrian Network for Human Rights

8. War Heroes and a Victors’ Peace
THE GOOD vs. THE BAD
THE BAD vs. THE GOOD

10. “We H8 you” constructing enemies

14. ”We <3 You” constructing friends