Embodiment theories and alternative perspectives on the body

Abstract

Embodiment theories have overcome the doctrine of intellectus archety­pus without ever discussing the notion of body on which that particular kind of intellect was based. Indeed, the model of the body underlying embodiment theories remains an a priori: anthropomorphic, independent and “self-contained”. This paper sheds light on the problematic points of this vision and explores the anthropology of the “ontological turn”, looking for alternative modes of body knowledge – seeing it as the result of “affects”, “affections” and habitus – more effective in justifying the corporeal dimension of cognition.