Body and Knowledge

The representation of the human being that led to the Cartesian formulation and today to the ephemeral triumph of cognitive science is radically denied and modified by the discoveries that come from the self-same science that generated it. Population genetics and paleoanthropology offer convincing evidence of an evolutionary path of the human species, along which the alleged primacy of awareness and reason as qualifying characteristics of humanity loses its meaning. If it is true that the conquest of the upright position is the crucial moment the appearance of the human can be traced back to and that therefore its path began 3.7 million years ago, the time in which we were human without today's "clear" awareness or the main tool of language is far more significant and extensive than this last, presumptuous phase can admit without seeing its founding assumptions denied. This is not to deny the importance of consciousness and the ability to speak. What is considered crucial to refute is instead the claim that everything that does not have to do with a reason conceived as verbal, abstract and disembodied is a mere "residue" that can soon be done away with thanks to digital technologies. The relationship with oneself, with one's peers and with the environment is also played out on a corporeal, qualitative and non-rational level, the rejection of which is probably at the root of today's crises in every sector. The same can be said of the knowledge pursued and constructed today which, in the light of these considerations, proves to be partial and incapable of conceiving the complexity of the interactive and procedural fabric in which it moves and therefore of tackling it to remedy the damage caused The critical deconstruction of the pre-judgements on which the current worldview is based and the re-modulation of the perception of oneself and one's place in the world appear to be of primary importance for the achievement of a different capacity for action capable of facing the challenges of the 21st century and both can only start from common sense.