The Thinking Hand

In this book Pallasmaa progresses his case for a multi-sensory approach to architecture, espoused in The Eyes of the Skin, by taking a wider view of the role of embodiment in human existential reactions, experiences and expressions as well as the processes of making and thinking. ‘The Thinking Hand' is a metaphor for the characteristic independence and autonomous activity of all our senses as they constantly scan the physical world. Many of our most crucial skills are internalised as automatic reactions that we are not consciously aware of. Even in the case of learning skills, the sequence of movements in a task is internalised and embodied rather than understood and remembered intellectually. Prevailing educational philosophies continue to emphasise conceptual, intellectual and verbal knowledge over this tacit and non-conceptual wisdom of our embodied processes, which is so essential to our experience and understanding of the physical and the built.

ISBN 0470779292   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9780470779293 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 412 Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd   Published in Chichester Imprint John Wiley & Sons Ltd   Series ISSN 3 Format Paperback   Series title Architectural Design Primers Series Publication date 20 Mar 2009   Height (mm) 220 Library of Congress NA2500   Width (mm) 172 DEWEY 720.1   Spine width (mm) 10 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level Professional / Scholarly Pages 160

Introduction: Embodied Existence and Sensory Thought. Chapter One: The Mysterious Hand. The Multiple Essences of the Hand. What is the Hand? Hand, Eye, Brain and Language. Hand as Symbol. Gestures of the Hand. Languages of the Hand. Chapter Two: The Working Hand. The Hand and the Tool. The Hand of the Craftsman. Collaborative Craftsmanship. Architecture as Workmanship. Chapter Three: Eye-Hand-Mind Fusion. Experimentation and the Art of Play. Skill and Boredom. Eye, Hand and Mind. Chapter Four: The Drawing Hand. Drawing and the Self. Tactility of Drawing. The Computerised Hand. Primacy of Touch: Hapticity of Self-image. Unconscious Touch in Artistic Experience. Chapter Five: Embodied Thinking. Creative Fusion. The Work of Thinking: The Value of Uncertainty. Resistance, Tradition and Freedom. Thinking Through the Senses. Embodied Memory and Thought. Existential Knowledge. Chapter Six: Body, Self and Mind. The Body as Site. The World and the Self. The World and the Mind. Existential Space in Art. Chapter Seven: Emotion and Imagination. Reality of Imagination. The Gift of Imagination. Reality of Art. Art and Emotion. Artistic Experience as Exchange. Chapter Eight: Theory and Life. Theory and Making. Opposition of Theory and Making. Architecture as Image of Life. The Task of Art. Index. Photo Credits.

"The Thinking Hand is a superb piece of writing. A primer not just for architecture, but for life." (Blueprint, July 2009) "...beautifully illustrated sequence of essays...It is philosophical, emotional and, unusually for architectural theory, as clear as a building made of glass." (The Guardian, August 1st 2009)

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