The Thinking Trampoline - An Embodied Discussion of Embodiment and Space

This initiative seeks to explore the issues of embodiment and space through the use of a series of experimental seminars that incorporate physical exercises and encourage "thinking with our bodies". It has been co-organized by Dr. Geoffrey Edwards, on sabbatical leave from Laval University in Quebec City to Bloorview Kids Rehab, in Toronto, and Dr. Pat McKeever, dually appointed to the Department of Nursing at the University of Toronto and to Bloorview Kids Rehab.

Our first initiative is focused on exploring the writings of James Gibson and Gilles Deleuze, two scholars who promote non-cartesian discourse in relation to the body. Gibson is widely known as the originator of the Theory of Affordances, but he is also founder of Ecological Psychology, a school of thought within psychology which remains contraversial to this day, that suggests that a part of our "cognitive" function is situated in the environment and not only in the body (although this is actually a misleading statement, since it attempts to put a non-cartesian perspective within a cartesian framework). Gilles Deleuze was a 20th century philosopher who has had wide influence, who developed a philosophy rooted in Spinozan thought, focussed on "what a body can do" rather than "what a body is".

The group met for the first time in a small room in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto, on October 18, 2008, a Friday afternoon. Seven people were present - in addition to Dr. Edwards and Dr. McKeever, there were Dr. Andrew Payne, a researcher/teacher in architecture at the University of Toronto, with training in literature and philosophy; Dr. Rodolphe el-Koury also with the John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design at the University of Toronto; Dr. Elaine Biddiss, an engineer working on smart textiles at Bloorview Kids Rehab; Ms. Cora McLaren, a Ph.D. student working on embodiment issues around children with disability; and Tallis McLaren, Cora's three week old daughter.

Highlight of this first introductory meeting included a discussion of the Moebius strip and its 3D counterpart, the Klein bottle, and a discussion about the relationships between Deleuze's ideas and those of Gibson. The Moebius strip is seen as an interesting comment about the relationship between a medical approach to the body and a social approach to the body. It was also pointed out that Deleuze was a student of Lacan, and Lacan was fascinated by both the moebius strip and the klein bottle. Architects have also been fascinated with these shapes over the years. Therefore, these shapes form a kind of common or linking thread between the different subjects under discussion.

Present also were six soft balls (about 15 centimeters across), which were introduced as a way to maintain attention on the body as well as on the discussion. By placing the ball against different parts of the body, we can easily focus attention on that body part and how we feel there. We also used the balls as a way of opening the chest area by leaning back against the ball, sandwiched between our backs and the wall. We also explored a few exercises taken from Feldenkreis workshops, bouncing on one's toes so that one feels the entire musculoskeletal chain from feet to head, and tapping one's face and body with one's fingers. We also used the balls to support a breathing exercise, breathing sideways towards the ball, which introduces interesting sensations into the body.

It was noted that our discussion is focused on a form of "inspiration", in both senses, or perhaps both senses brought together to form a single sense - our breathing and our thinking being intimately related. The set of exercises gave an introduction to "thinking with the body", and the group was encourage to continue to use the balls to keep the body "awake" during the discussions. We were also occasionally interrupted by the very embodied movements and noises of three week old Tallis. These interruptions tended to add to the exchange rather than distract from it.

These discussion seminars, with their very experimental form, are seen as a way of "taking risks" as academics with how we think and explore issues.