BIOPOLITICS OF COOLING

Etymologically, comfort means: derives from Late Latin "confortare" meaning "to strengthen greatly." The evolution of comfort in Middle English took on meanings of ease, emotional support and consolation. Thus, to live in comfort is to be given strength, to be aided, or soothed when something is wrong. To feel comfort is both physical and emotional, and inherently social. We are given comfort by someone or something. When the prefix of ‘dis’ is added to discomfort, it created a word meaning “away from strength” or “deprived of strength/reinforcement”, revealing a form of social exclusion. 

In the context of Cooling (and also in the context of environmental crisis), this becomes even more stark: some bodies are strengthened and consoled by cooling systems, while others are exposed to extreme forms of it. The etymology of comfort also reveal a deeper truth about discomfort, that is not just about physical unease - but also being systematically excluded from social relationships and systems that provide strength, protection and comfort towards others.