Expanding our perceptual world through technology
Claudia Núñez-Pacheco · 2015
The body contains the particular condition of being simultaneously subject and object. In this regard, this position paper advocates for the importance of developing technologies that celebrate the subjective aspects of the body. As a theoretical ground, I find inspiration from Shusterman's concept of soma and his philosophical project of Somaesthetics, which acknowledges the body as mindful as well as a source of meaning-generation. Nowadays, technologies for self-exploration are mostly focused on supervising and shaping the objective body towards the interpretation of quantified outcomes. Even when the objective and subjective approaches can be complementary, I discuss about the current need for technology that takes into account the experiential and smart body that expands its semiotic world, providing new channels for self-expression and learning.