Abstract

Human thinking is modeled on the body in much the same way as hominid thinking was (Sheets-Johnstone, 1990, 4, 25). The hominid experience of moving was the cornerstone of the experience of the precinct of I can. The experience of I can subsequently formed the basis for corporeal and topological concepts. These, in turn, generated analogical insights. One sees, accordingly, not only an intermingling of the bodily experience and discernment, but also everywhere indications of analogical thinking at the root of hominid tool-building. Self-movement is the mainspring of one’s experience of oneself as an agent endowed with free-will-related activities. It is the creative fount of one’s ideas of space and time. The phenomenon of moving oneself structures how one knows the world. Moving oneself is a manner of coming to knowledge. The Lives of species-specific bodies are built on thinking in movement. Studies provide ample evidence to show a fundamental correlation between motor and cognitive development. This developmental correlation is also found in both the prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum. Both cognitive and motor developments reveal a prolonged developmental timetable. Both the prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum attain maturity much later. Studies by Adele Diamond and others show that the cerebellum is not only involved in motor operations but also in cognitive functions. Conversely, the prefrontal cortex, with (the help of) its connection with the cortical and subcortical areas that are critical for movement control, is involved in both motor and cognitive functions. Thus both motor and cognitive behaviours seem to belong together; and the body appears crucially involved in the activities of the mind (Diamond, 2000, 44, 49; Bushnell & Boudreau, 1993, 1008, 1015-1017; Burns et al., 2004, 19-29)

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