BOOK REVIEW
Human Body Perception From The Inside Out (2006)
Edited by Günther Knoblich, Ian M. Thornton, Marc Grosejean, & Maggie Shiffrar
Difficulty Level: Above average, but a basic understanding of neurology and an avid interest in neuroscience will see you through.
Number of Pages: 459
Our perception of our bodies is ever-present, but it was a little studied topic until the 1990s and which continues on to this day. Body perception differs from other sensory modalities because it is both so personal and yet so mysterious. The first major work reviewing the various aspects and issues of human body perception was Human Body Perception From The Inside Out and despite it now pushing 20 years old still stands as a classic in the field of embodied cognition and an excellent introduction.
The book is founded on two premises: (a) to provide a detailed account of body experience as a multisensory construct founded on neural brain maps which also focus on biological motion and controls intention and action and (b) body-self perception and the perception of other bodies is closely related. The book is divided into three parts:
- Body and Multimodal Perception
Body experience is multimodal meaning it is a product several sensory streams mainly proprioception and vision. This section investigates the role of vision in the embodiment experience and how it integrates with proprioception. The experience of body space is also covered along with its own multisensory processing.
- Body Representations
Body representations are the neural models within the brain which reflect and control body experience and movement. Some representations are stable and last over time while many are transient and ever changing. The discussion covers phantom limb phenomena as a case where the body part no longer exists, but the representation is still active. The discussion includes how one’s own body experience is used to understand and empathize with the bodies of others.
- Perception of Biological Motion
Biological motion is the perception of body movements of others. (I discuss this principle in more detail in a blog-lecture entitled, Strutting Your Biological Motion: Body Movement and Sexuality.) The principle of biological motion crosses many different scientific domains including experimental psychology, neuropsychology, computational modeling, and neuroimaging studies as well as somatic psychology. Perception of body movement necessarily entails a body representation for movement coordinated with vision and memory.
- Intention and Action in Body Perception
This section explores the notion that the body is the central tool of the mind. This is a profound image and one well worth meditating upon. Our bodies are the primary medium through which or with which consciousness interacts with the world around it.
Closing Thoughts
The human body is an immense, eternal topic discussed by artists, philosophers, writers, and scientists since the beginning of recorded history. Oddly, modern scientific psychology confined to its narrow Cartesian view has largely ignored the body except for brain anatomy and physiology, hormones, and sensory systems. It has long treated the body not as a subject of consciousness but more as an organic add-on to the mind. The bodymind as a process of embodied cognition has only just emerged as a separate and legitimate area of scientific study in the last two decades. This book, which I believe is one of the classics in the field of embodied cognition, gives the reader interested in body consciousness a deeper understanding of what it means to be a bodymind and not just a mind.
References
Knoblich, G., Thornton, I., Grosjean, M., & Shiffrar, M. (2006). Human Perception From The Inside Out. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.