A vocabulary for the future: touch
A mesmerising blend of words and images make touch a doorway into the deepest questions in physics and philosophy- by Aeon VideoWatch on Aeon.
The article explores a counterintuitive idea: touch as a paradoxical experience where attraction and repulsion intertwine. At first glance, touch feels like direct contact between two surfaces, but classical physics reveals that what we perceive as contact is actually the result of electromagnetic repulsion. Atoms in our skin and an object never truly meet; instead, their electrons push against each other, creating the sensation of touch. This raises a question: if touch never happens in the way we intuitively understand it, how do we explain its central role in human experience and relationships? The article suggests that this paradox is not a flaw in perception but a fundamental feature of how matter and interaction are defined in physics.
The article introduces quantum field theory, a branch of physics that describes matter as fundamentally entangled—meaning particles are connected across space and time from their very origin. Unlike classical physics, which treats objects as separate and stable, quantum field theory argues that matter has no fixed, independent identity. Instead, it exists in a web of relationships. This perspective reframes touch not as a failed attempt at contact between separate bodies but as something that constitutes what matter is. In this view, touch is not a secondary interaction but a primary way in which matter comes into being, challenging traditional notions of individuality and separation.
Karen Barad, an American theoretical physicist and feminist theorist, contributes to this discussion through their 2012 essay 'On Touching—The Inhuman That Therefore I Am'. Barad argues that touch is not just a physical phenomenon but also a philosophical one, tied to questions of identity, ethics, and existence. They suggest that the classical idea of touch as a meeting between distinct entities is misleading. Instead, touch is a process that blurs boundaries between the self and the other, the human and the non-human. Barad’s work bridges physics and feminist theory, proposing that touch is a metaphor for how all matter—including humans—is fundamentally interconnected.
The article pairs Barad’s ideas with visuals by Barcelona-based digital artist Blanca Rego, who creates mesmerizing images to accompany the text. Rego’s work transforms the abstract concepts of touch and entanglement into tangible, dreamlike visuals. These images aim to make the viewer feel the paradox of touch—how something so ordinary can also be deeply mysterious. The collaboration between Barad and Rego is part of the A Vocabulary for the Future series by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, which pairs thinkers with filmmakers to explore words in new ways. The series seeks to reimagine familiar language as a tool for envisioning a better future.
The *A Vocabulary for the Future* series is produced by the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), a cultural institution in Barcelona, Spain. The series invites notable thinkers to reflect on a single word and collaborate with filmmakers to create visual interpretations. The goal is to encourage viewers to see language—and by extension, the world—anew. In this instalment, the focus is on *touch*, a word that Barad and Rego explore through the lenses of physics, philosophy, and art. The series was published on 20 August 2026 and is part of Aeon’s broader mission to make complex ideas accessible to a general audience.
