A Body of Knowledge: The Role of Human Experience and the Living Body in Knowing

Abstract

The study of ways of knowing is a major topic in psychology and cognitive science. However, one might argue that subjectivity and human experience as roots of knowing are seldom addressed, despite the perspectives that they may offer. Our work investigates the epistemic status of experience and the living body in knowledge processes. It asserts that human experience contains a myriad richness and argues that a first-person epistemology and precise methods are needed to genuinely conduct experiential research. The stakes of such a proposal are not only epistemological but also nourish an ethical and societal goal.