In this new vision, the divine arises from human willpower, guiding us across the abyss. This god is rooted in an archaic substrate beyond rationality, embodied in the pure expression of creativity—an unstoppable cosmic instinct. This divine presence shines brightest during the wild, unrestrained Dionysian festivals, outside the established order and Apollonian restraint, where blood, …
In her essay, Thinking through Movement: An Encounter between Dance and Philosophy, Bardet explores the intrinsic connection between philosophy and dance, proposing that dance is a form akin to philosophy due to its capacity to integrate theory and practice in a coordinated flow of actions. Bardet envisions philosophy as a dance that uncovers glimpses of truth in a shimmering manner—a truth that is half-revealed and half-hidden, to be discovered through active movement rather than rigid scholarship. He suggests that appreciating one’s movements in the mirror is analogous to our relationship with truth. Truth is not a metaphor for itself; instead, it becomes a realization within the individual, who is integrally immersed in it through dance.
Bardet argues that thought and movement are intertwined gestures. The intersection of thinking and moving creates a dynamic where movement becomes thought, and thought becomes movement. This abstraction of dance to its most primal form—movement—suggests that thought without movement cannot exist. Echoing Heraclitus, Bardet reminds us that the essence of existence is movement itself.
The movement inherent in dance represents the mind’s journey through the Platonic world of ideas. If we consider parallel dimensions, dance might create a fissure allowing pure ideas to enter reality, ready to be grasped by the dancing thinker. This thinker, through dance, can break free from the rigid structures that bind them to a world of superficial opinions and cognitive biases.
Imagining a philosophy infused with dance that could be studied or even expressed in academic prose is challenging. The impersonal nature of academic writing seems at odds with the spontaneous vitality of dance. This raises several questions: Can philosophy exist without dance? Or is all philosophy inherently a display of movement? How should we judge the work of thinkers who lack this agility?
In this light, philosophical prose would require a style akin to the Socratic-Dionysian dance. The aesthetic character of dance would become essential to philosophical writing and philosophy itself. Consequently, the relationship between philosophy and aesthetics would shift; aesthetics would no longer be a mere branch of philosophy but its backbone, especially in an era of widespread skepticism and disillusionment.
It is also crucial to understand dance as an individual phenomenon and see how its essence infiltrates the philosophical realm. From a Nietzschean perspective, Martinez Gallardo describes dance as an intrinsic quality of God, portraying a being vital and transcendent beyond conventional morality. Dance emerges as a significant element in an epistemological quest and a quality that brings life and connects humans with a higher aspect of themselves. This understanding gains even more importance in the modern era, marked by the death of God and the triumph of philosophical skepticism. Thus, dance, with its total bodily engagement, can revitalize the art of thinking and bring us closer to a new conception of divinity.
In this new vision, the divine arises from human willpower, guiding us across the abyss. This god is rooted in an archaic substrate beyond rationality, embodied in the pure expression of creativity—an unstoppable cosmic instinct. This divine presence shines brightest during the wild, unrestrained Dionysian festivals, outside the established order and Apollonian restraint, where blood, wine, desire, and dance merge in vigorous communion.
The convergence of dance and philosophy, as Bardet suggests, occurs in a setting that is not necessarily civilized. Dance offers an escape from the ordinary, Apollonian, and confined civilization. There is perhaps a connection between dance and madness, as both can open the field to new forms of understanding reality. Physicist Vadim Zeland notes that excessive seriousness and importance attributed to an idea create a kind of resistance that hampers the free flow of vital consciousness energy. This resistance, termed potential excess, dissolves through concrete action, particularly when it involves both body and mind. In this sense, dance acts as a perfect solvent for potential excess and, thus, the primary opponent of the free flow of consciousness and thought.
Dance, therefore, becomes a medium through which we can transcend the limitations of rigid, schematic thinking. It allows for a fluid, dynamic interaction with truth, mirroring the perpetual motion of life itself. Through dance, the thinker can break free from the chains of dogma and preconception, embracing a more holistic and embodied approach to philosophy. It is not a surprise, then, that even in the most authoritarian of environments, dance is usually the last thing that can be prohibited. Perhaps this is a signal of the intrinsic freedom that is found within the rhythmic movement, which has not only a liberating power but also the capacity to elevate the morale of whoever allows himself to go with the flow
From the movement of molecules to the explosion of the Big Bang, life in retrospect seems to be nothing more than a grand, majestic dance that transcends language itself and reconnects the individual with their true self. And if the thinker of the most abstract order dares to learn this discipline, perhaps they may reach places where few dare to venture. And perhaps it is this never-ending dance that is destined to take us there. Thus, we must think, dance, and think once more.
References:
Alvaro, D. (2016). Articulating gestures: Review of Bardet, M. (2012). Thinking with movement: An encounter between dance and philosophy. Buenos Aires: Cactus. In Diferencia(s) Journal, 3(2), 223-230. ISSN 2469-1100.
Bardet, M. (2012). Thinking through movement: An encounter between dance and philosophy. Buenos Aires: Editorial Cactus.
Martinez Gallardo, A. (2018). Why every philosopher should know how to dance. Retrieved from Pijama Surf.
Zeland, V. (2004). Reality transurfing, vol. 1: The space of variants. S.l.: Obelisco Editions.
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