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There are two ways to know something: by description and by acquaintance. What we know by description are things that we have read or heard about; what we know by acquaintance are things that we have experienced ourselves. Descriptions can only be made at a distance which acquaintance requires direct involvement. At first encounters between Europeans and non-Europeans, the parties often danced as a way to get to know each other. In Europe, kings and diplomats danced for the same reason. However, colonialism requires knowledge by description, and thereby an entirely different attitude to the world. A world described in books and in research reports is far easier to control and to exploit.

Increasingly we have come to live in our heads, leaving our bodies behind. The consequences have been far-reaching, of which cognitive theory has warned us, advocating a 'return to the body.' This book employs several case studies-kings performing in ballets, sea captains dancing with natives, nationalists engaged in gymnastics exercises-to demonstrate what has been lost and what could be gained by a more embodied approach to living, to history. These curious movements were ways to be, to think, to know, to imagine, and to will. They highlight the limits of historical explanations focusing on cultural factors and question currently fashionable 'cultural' and 'post-modern' perspectives. Bodies, cognitive theory tells us, are the same regardless of historical context, and they engage in the same intentional activities. Returning to our bodies and their movements enables us not only to explain historical actions anew, but also to understand ourselves better.

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IV - Knowing

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Moving Bodies

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IV - Knowing

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Moving Bodies