Bodily movement – The fundamental dimensions

Abstract

IntroductionBodily movement has become an interesting topic in recent philosophy, both in analytic and phenomenological versions. Philosophy of mind has taken a fresh interest in the body, due to developments in the intersection between psychology, cognitive science, neuroscience and robotics (Hurley 1998;Searle 2004). Similarly philosophers in the phenomenological tradition combine Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty with brain research and empirical psychology (Gallagher 2005;Thompson 2007). 1 In this article I will mainly present and discuss insights from the phenomenological tradition since philosophers in this tradition were the first in modern age to show the bodily background and anchorage of perception, cognition and action. Furthermore they give valuable insight into movement itself and the role it plays in our lives.Human movement has caused problems in the philosophical tradition. Philosophy from Descartes to Kant defined the human being as a mental subject in a material body. For Hume the human subject seemed to be located in an inactive body. The body was merely another object of experience. With such an attitude the subject must state "I am an immobile observer of my body." (Todes 2001:44). Similarly I become a mover of (part of) my body.When I raise my arm I am therefore a user of my body. I raise my arm as I raise a stick. This mechanistic attitude toward the body still lingers on in many studies of motor learning and control. Furthermore the information processing paradigm that dominates in psychology, cognitive science and motor learning very often makes it difficult to understand the background and intentionality of bodily movement, how human bodies are oriented in space and the role of awareness and proprioception in bodily action (Dreyfus 1999;Searle 2004;Moe 2007). In this article I want to focus on just these problems. I will give examples of how recent philosophical insights from both the phenomenological and analytic tradition can contribute to a better understanding of human bodily movement. I will start with Heidegger's contribution to overcoming the subject-object dichotomy and his new understanding of the primacy of the practical involvement with the surrounding world. Heidegger, however, in many ways neglected the role of the human body. Merleau-Ponty took a huge step forward when he focused on the bodily intentionality of our interaction with the world. The next step was taken by Samuel Todes who presented a better understanding of how we are bodily 1 oriented in space. After having seen how the body is oriented outward towards the environment it is proper that the final part of this article goes inward toward the role of bodily awareness and the role of proprioception in human movement. Through this presentation my goal is to contribute to a better understanding of what goes on in sport. I will therefore try to use examples from sport, especially football, to show the relevance of the new insights. Heidegger and the primacy of the practical dealing with the environmentIn his early work H...

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