Towards a Chronological Cartography of the Uncanny Valley and its Uncanny Coincidences

Citation

Galanos V (2020) Towards a Chronological Cartography of the Uncanny Valley and its Uncanny Coincidences. In: Uncanny Bodies. Edinburgh: Luna Press Publishing - Academia Lunace. https://www.lunapresspublishing.com/product-page/uncanny-bodies

Abstract
The uncanny valley can mean different things to different people. How should we properly present the nuances of such a concept that has to do with the evocation of strange feelings between animate and inanimate beings? The present text is an attempt at explaining and unfolding the concept in chronological manner, examining the confusion surrounding it, and proposing a new direction to it. In particular, the translation journeys between Jentsch and Freud's 'unheimlich,' the Scots-rooted words 'canny' and 'uncanny,' and the use of 'bukimi' by Masahiro Mori, are examined in light of the popularisation of the term 'uncanny valley' into English. The resistance of the phrase 'uncanny valley' and the triplet of 'uncanny'/'unheimlich'/'bukimi' to be specifically defined and exactly translated offers novel insights in the understanding of those terms themselves.