Ośmiornica. Neuroróżnorodność wikłana w metafory – i wyjście ku światom innym niż ludzkie

Abstract

The Octopus. Neurodiversity Entangled in Metaphors – and a Move Towards Worlds Other Than Human The starting point of this article is the thematic connection between neurodiversity and biodiversity in studies that introduce the concept of neurodiversity into academic discourse and everyday thought. The octopus serves as the central figure of the analysis – an organism with a distributed nervous system that challenges human notions of intelligence, perception, and consciousness. Narrative parallels in literary and scientific texts, particularly the convergence of themes depicting human–octopus encounters from a sensory perspective, reveal the interpenetration and mutual stimulation of the languages of science and literary imagination. They also indicate possible paths towards transcending an anthropocentric approach to encounters with non-human beings. Keywords: neurodiversity, interspecies relations, octopus, laboratory, communication