In cognitive scientist and professor Guy Claxton’s 2015 book, “Intelligence in the Flesh: Why your mind needs your body much more than it thinks,” you’re in for a mind trick or two — and plenty of treats.
The book explores the idea that intelligence is not confined to the brain but is distributed throughout the body.
Claxton argues against the traditional view that sees the mind as separate from the body, proposing instead, that cognition — our thinking, decision-making and our comprehension — is shaped by the body’s movements, sensations and interactions.
The author claims that “over the last century, human beings in affluent societies have become more and more sluggish.”
He continues: “Millions of us work in offices, pushing paper, staring at screens, discussing proposals and re-arranging words and spreadsheets. For our leisure, we look at more screens, text and tweet, escape into virtual worlds, gossip and chatter.
“Our functional bodies have shrunk: just ears and eyes on the input side, and mouths and fingertips on the output side … Cooking can be no more than ripping off a plastic film and closing the microwave door. Our real bodies get so little attention, and so little skillful use, that we have to make special arrangements to remember them.”
He mentions examples of “remembering our bodies” by taking long walks in the countryside and working out at the gym. Machines have simplified our lives to such an extent that we can now operate almost entirely on autopilot. But have smartphones made us less smart? Certainly, technology has streamlined our routines and made our lives much easier — but at what cost? Have we voluntarily let machines take over mundane tasks and, perhaps unknowingly, allowed them to gain control over crucial parts of our brains? Are our minds going to mush?
This book attempts to answer all of the above. And then some.
Claxton draws on research from neuroscience, psychology and philosophy to support the idea that the body plays a critical role in shaping our mental processes.
He emphasizes that the way we move, feel and experience the world physically is completely inseparable from how we think and learn intellectually.
The book challenges the idea of intelligence as purely an abstract thing, advocating for a more integrated understanding of human cognition that accounts for the body’s role in learning, perception and even creativity.
Claxton’s body of work emphasizes the importance of resilience, resourcefulness, reflectiveness and reciprocity in education.
He often advocates for a shift away from traditional, rigid, one-size-fits-all methods of instruction toward a more flexible and creative approach.
He has authored numerous other books on the issue, including “What’s the Point of School?” and “The Learning Power Approach.”
