Table of Contents

Introduction: Embodied Existence and Sensory Thought 010

Chapter One: The Mysterious Hand 024

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

Chapter Two: The Working Hand 046

The Hand and the Tool

The Hand of the Craftsman

Collaborative Craftsmanship

Architecture as Workmanship

Chapter Three: Eye–Hand–Mind Fusion 070

Experimentation and the Art of Play

Skill and Boredom

Eye, Hand and Mind

Chapter Four: The Drawing Hand 088

Drawing and the Self

Tactility of Drawing

The Computerised Hand

Primacy of Touch: Hapticity of Self-image

Unconscious Touch in Artistic Experience

Chapter Five: Embodied Thinking 106

Creative Fusion

The Work of Thinking: The Value of Uncertainty

Resistance, Tradition and Freedom

Thinking Through the Senses

Embodied Memory and Thought

Existential Knowledge

Chapter Six: Body, Self and Mind 122

The Body as Site

The World and the Self

The World and the Mind

Existential Space in Art

Chapter Seven: Emotion and Imagination 130

Reality of Imagination

The Gift of Imagination

Reality of Art

Art and Emotion

Artistic Experience as Exchange

Chapter Eight: Theory and Life 140

Theory and Making

Opposition of Theory and Making

Architecture as Image of Life

The Task of Art

Index 153

Photo credits 159

About the Author

Juhani Pallasmaa is one of Finland’s most distinguished architects and architectural thinkers. His previous positions include: Rector of the Institute of Industrial Arts, Helsinki; Director of the Museum of Finnish Architecture, Helsinki; and Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Helsinki University of Technology. He has also held visiting professorships in several universities internationally. Pallasmaa is the author/editor of 24 books, including The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (Academy, 1995 and John Wiley & Sons, 2005), The Architecture of Image: Existential Space in Cinema (Helsinki, 2001) and Encounters (Helsinki, 2005).

Reviews

"The Thinking Hand is a superb piece of writing. A primer not just for architecture, but for life." (Blueprint, July 2009) "...beautifully illustrated sequence of essays...It is philosophical, emotional and, unusually for architectural theory, as clear as a building made of glass." (The Guardian, August 1st 2009)