Attention movement professionals – the body is now on everyone’s mind. From psychologists and philosophers to computer scientists and robotic engineers, everyone is saying goodbye to Descartes and the separation of body and mind and hello to “embodied cognition.”
Put simply, embodied cognition posits that intelligent behavior emerges from the interplay between brain, body, and the environment. Thinking is no longer the function of an isolated brain performing disembodied calculations based upon abstract concepts. Instead, the raw materials for thought are distributed over the brain, body, and environment and coupled together via our perceptual systems. Intelligent behavior emerges from the real-time interplay of these resources.
Of course, there is a great deal yet to be discovered about the interrelation of body, mind, and environment. But as one author notes, “people’s embodied experiences are critical to the way they think and speak, and more generally, understand themselves, other people, and the world around them.” Consequently, the study of embodied action is critical to the study of human cognition.
What is “embodied action?” Embodied action is human movement. To paraphrase, the study of human movement is critical to the study of human cognition. This cultural turn is ripe with possibilities for movement professionals, for as Wilson and Golonka observe, “taking embodiment seriously requires both new methods and theories.”
Laban Movement Analysts have been taking embodiment seriously for some time. What do we have to contribute to understanding the role the body plays in shaping the mind? Find out in the upcoming MoveScape seminar, Embodied Decision Making.