The Thinking Hand

In our current global networked culture that puts so much emphasis
on the virtual and the visual, the mind and the body have become
detached and ultimately disconnected. Though physical appearance is
idolised for its sexual appeal and its social identity, the role of
the body in developing a full understanding of the physical world
and the human condition has become neglected. The potential of the
human body as a knowing entity - with all our senses as well
as our entire bodily functions being structured to produce and
maintain silent knowledge together - fails to be recognised.

It is only through the unity of mind and body that craftsmanship
and artistic work can be fully realised. Even those endeavours that
are generally regarded as solely intellectual, such as writing and
thinking, depend on this union of mental and manual skills.

In The Thinking Hand, Juhani Pallasmaa reveals the
miraculous potential of the human hand. He shows how the pencil in
the hand of the artist or architect becomes the bridge between the
imagining mind and the emerging image. The book surveys the
multiple essences of the hand, its biological evolution and its
role in the shaping of culture, highlighting how the
hand-tool union and eye-hand-mind fusion are
essential for dexterity and how ultimately the body and the senses
play a crucial role in memory and creative work. Pallasmaa here
continues the exploration begun in his classic work The Eyes of
the Skin by further investigating the interplay of emotion and
imagination, intelligence and making, theory and life, once again
redefining the task of art and architecture through well-grounded
human truths.