Embodied Cognition is a Special Type of Movement

The aim of this paper is to consider cognition as a special type of movement by emphasising the importance of reflecting upon and connecting all scales of movement. Rather than staying comfortably close to the visible scale of the body, often omitting considerations of the micro movements of cognition (thought, feeling, sensation) and the macro movements of the surrounding context (physical environment and social, cultural and historical structures), it is productive for researcher-practitioners to track the filigree effects of movement-within-movement across the boundaries within and between the body and the environment. In the following discussion, I will argue that embodied cognition operates on the smallest scale of movement within the body (neurological, biochemical and micro muscular) that is coupled with but not determined by the environment. Considered in this light the performative nature of our everyday actions becomes more accessible for study and transformation. Embodied cognition, and perception in particular, consists of movements-within-movement that twist, contort and shift the gross and subtle connections and relationships previously held in place. Cognitive actions (perception as action) have the ability to change value and meaning, and thereby change decision and judgment formations that shape the boundaries of reality. Movement of identity boundaries does not necessitate moving the surfaces that are affected/effected by the newly measured relationships. Philosopher of cognitive science Shaun Gallagher observes the way movement shapes cognition noting that, in certain cases, ‘even when we are not specifically required to reach for it [an object] or pick it up, “canonical neurons ” … responsible for the motoroic encoding of actions such as reaching and grapping are selectively activated ’ (2005, p. 8). In other words, I may already be reaching for an object before I reach for it, I am possibly already working before I leave home for the studio and perhaps I am already changing as a result of the research I have been conducting. Some performers, using images, emotions and specific intentions create dispositions through micro