ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I elaborate on the kind of challenge involved in embodied thinking, and the creativity, criticality, and freedom implied. What I mean by these terms becomes clearer as I carry through my analysis of the embodied thinking process. The main feature of this process is a responsive development of thought and of formulation for which I coined the term ‘close talking’. Examples from diverse disciplinary contexts are presented. They demonstrate a precise, yet logically and conceptually not predictable transformation, both of the meanings and implications of the language one uses as well as of the experiential grounds that motivate the thinking. The chapter shows how phenomenological, classical pragmatist, and enactive approaches to mind and meaning underpin understandings of embodied thinking, and then reflects on conditions of ‘reflexive care’ needed for this human endeavour. Finally, I bring out the relevance of embodied thinking for our time and age.
