The thinking hand : existential and embodied wisdom in architecture / Juhani Pallasmaa.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : Embodied existence and sensory thought -- The mysterious hand. The multiple essences of the hand ; What is the hand? ; Hand, eye, brain and language ; Hand as symbol ; Gestures of the hand ; Languages of the hand -- The working hand. The hand and the tool ; The hand of the craftsman ; Collaborative craftsmanship ; Architecture as workmanship -- Eye-hand-mind fusion. Experimentation and the art of play ; Skill and boredom ; Eye, hand and mind -- The drawing hand. Drawing and the self ; Tactility of drawing ; The computerised hand ; Primacy of touch : hapticity of self-image ; Unconscious touch in artistic experience -- Embodied thinking. Creative fusion ; The work of thinking : the value of uncertainty ; Resistance, tradition and freedom ; Thinking through the senses ; Embodied memory and thought ; Existential knowledge -- Body, self and mind. The body as site ; The world and the self ; The world and the mind ; Existential space in art -- Emotion and imagination. Reality of imagination ; The gift of imagination ; Reality of art ; Art and emotion ; Artistic experience as exchange -- Theory and life. Theory and making ; Opposition of theory and making ; Architecture as image of life ; The task of art.

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.