The Thinker- Embodied cognition, or Why Does Having a Body Makes Me More Intelligent

The sculpture above, known as The Thinker, created by Auguste Rodin, is used rather frequently to represent deep thinking, for example, Philosophy, all around the world. However, Rodin designed this piece to be set in front of one of his other creations: The Gates of Hell. (However, I dare to say this fact is not as ubiquitously known as the statue.) Given that The Thinker seems to be in a pose with a lot of tension, and that he is supposed to be in front of the Gates of Hell, the question arises: What is he thinking about? My personal answer is the following: he is worried about entering into hell. But then, does worrying legitimately count as the deep thinking he is supposed to be doing? Especially if he is really worried?

When I was very young, before my teenage years, I used to wish that I didn't have a body so that I could think better. Things like getting drowsy, being hungry, or getting sick, usually got in the way of me reading books, paying attention in class, or doing homework. And so, although having a body was nice for some things like playing football, skipping the rope, or enjoying chocolate, it seemed to be a burden for learning things and therefore, being more intelligent.

For me, remembering stuff and knowing how to do things such as maths was the measure of intelligence at that time (it still is to some, but I kind of disagree). And so, I spent many hours of my time every day understanding things and learning at school. Of this, I have no complaint. Every single thing I managed to learn, remember, and truly understand has been helpful in my life, although I could never know that it would. Because knowledge provides the roots for more specialized knowledge, the one that will be useful one day.

But after having had a lot of academic experience at this point, I realize that there is a powerful source of knowledge that could have helped me as well. And that is: doing stuff. (Great!...no, wait... What? What kind of stuff?) Any stuff that you can do with your body: watching TV, talking to friends, walking in the park, going to an exhibition, drinking coffee, playing with the dog. And the reason is simple, that is, one tends to know more about the things you have lived. If you had a hamster once, you know many things that people don't know about hamsters. If you went to an exhibition of Picasso with your girlfriend, you will (hopefully) know more about Picasso than you did before. And all of this is done through your body. If you go to a museum and see three things that you really liked it is more probable that you will remember them than if you just browse them on the internet. If you really enjoyed a cartoon about dinosaurs as a child, you will be able to remember new dinosaurs' facts as an adult. The body is a very efficient channel for knowing, remembering and learning stuff. It's the best thing, actually. This theory, with which I agree about the basic principles, is called in philosophy 'Embodied Cognition'.

But also note that there are things that can't be learned otherwise, and that's what books are for. In my opinion, knowledge-acquired-through-the-body and abstract knowledge constantly reinforce each other. So, do both things: do read books and go outside and do stuff. I did emphasis this time on the body-knowledge because it tends to be underrated, in my opinion.

And then, about The Thinker: He is worried, yeah. But worrying is also an important part of thinking. It serves as a motor to get focused on something in particular. It also helps to develop strategies and aids self-preservation. If one is worried about someone else, then charity is born. The Thinker has a body that makes him worry, and therefore, he can be a better thinker. And so, Philosophy thinks about issues, and it is legitimately worried about this issues.