Kinaesthesia and a Feeling for Relations

Abstract

This article makes a case for connecting knowledge of the sense(s) of self-movement with understanding psychology’s subject matter in terms of relations. It first outlines the history of the sense of movement as a form of awareness and reviews usage of the terms “kinaesthesia,” “proprioception,” and “haptic sense.” It shows that the structure and “feel” of the sense of movement have been thought to be relational, that is, to consist of an active and a passive component, activity–resistance. This article introduces argument that a feeling for reality in sensory experience is bound up with relational processes in movement, putting us “in touch with” the world. The sense of movement has therefore had a significant place in psychology focused on participation in the world, rather than on observation and knowledge of an “external” world. Finally, this article discusses relations of activity–resistance in movement, whether in dance, walking, sport, or in other ways, as relations of forces or powers. The study, in relational language, of powers at work contributes to the existing literature on the sociopolitical understanding of movement practices, particularly with reference to agency. The argument is exemplified by discussion of dance.