When the ‘mind- body debate’ comes to mind, we often mention Descartes in the same breath. But since Descartes, there have been a lot of philosophers who thought about the mind body relation and a few major paradigm shifts around this topic. Wittgenstein for example, offers an introduction on the philosophy of the body and the meaning of body language. Merleau-Ponty, referred to our body as the primary source of knowledge, and Michael Serres praised the body and stated that the mind is born in the metamorphose possibilities by our bodies.

In this podcast, with philosopher Aldo Houterman, we will explore in which ways art played a role in uncovering and representing the body, why sport and music are sources of information about our bodies, and in which ways technology has an influence on our bodily experience.

Aldo Houterman studied Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. Aldo is a teacher and researcher on the subject of Philosophy of the Body and Brain. He has researched bodily experience within psychiatry and physiotherapy. He is currently writing a book on the philosophy of sports and exercise, and is a doctoral candidate at the Erasmus University. He also teaches Ethics and Philosophy at the department of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, as well as in the Physiotherapy department at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht.

www.aldohouterman.nl

Podcast Points of Interest:

Depression is also a disease of the body (8:00) / Where does the mind- body debate originates ( 10:00) / Wittgenstein: gestures and behavior (13:00) / We have to do something with our body (17:00) / The body as an instrument (19:00) / Our body as an algorithm and experience of movement (23:00) / What it’s like to have a body (27:00) / Art and conceptions of the body (29:00) / The body (and happiness) in dancing and sports ( 38:00) /

Descartes (11.00) / Plato (11.00 / 12:00) / Aristotle (13:00) / Wittgenstein (13.00) / Merleau-Ponty (17:00) / Erik Scherder (20:00) / Dick Swaab (21:00 / 22:00) / Yuval Harari (22:00) / Hobbes (29:00) / Vesalius (30:00) / Giotto di Bondone, Leonardo da Vinci (30:00) / Mondriaan (33:00) / Copernicus (33:00) / Maxine Sheets – Johnstone ( 40:00) / Frenkie de Jong (42:00)

Books: Maxine Sheets-Johnstone – Primacy of movement

Article for Bij Nader Inzien by Aldo on Johan Cruijff – in Dutch.

Theories mentioned: Classic Mind – Body debate / Embodied Cognition / Neurocentric view / Algorithmic view