Embodied culture

Extracted text from Embodied_Cognition.pptx:

Embodied Cognition

Culturally embodied behavior is learned first by children: Stand/sit up straight. Look me in the eye when you talk to me. Give a firm handshake. Go sleep in your own bed. Alternately show deference by bowing. Don’t look at anyone in the eye. Don’t touch people who are not in our family. Sleep with mom (or dad) until you reach a certain age.

What is going on? Children who are taught to sleep apart from their parents are probably being taught an embodied sense of autonomy and independence (while virtually no one would use this as a justification of the practice). (Richard Shweder, 2003:46ff.)

Meanwhile other culturally patterned co-sleeping arrangements clearly foster relationships of familial inter-dependency and unity while once again any number of other justifications are likely to be invoked to explain the practices.

People who grow up pointing their heads to other (more prestigious) people's feet (bowing) when greeting them learn in their bodies both about hierarchy and sacred space (head to foot).

They eventually do not feel right about acting any other way, and end up reflecting this attitude as well in other ways (in systems of honorifics, for example).

“Even though people in all cultures have more or less the same bodies, they have different embodiments, and therefore they end up with different minds.” (Jonathan Haidt, 2001:21)

Our established behaviors may eventually find some narrative justification, but for most people their basic physical reactions are enough to keep them acting in accordance with established rituals which are then simply explained as “this is how well-behaved people should act.” (Haidt, 2001:20)

Personal examples: I grew up: not eating salad (where we lived hygiene was not very advanced). not drinking alcohol. fearing sensual touch.

To this day I don’t eat much fresh salad, or drink alcohol, or get massages. Not because I think these are wrong or dangerous as such, but because I learned to avoid them in my body (from parental attitudes) as a child.