Outward movement, changing consciousness Externalization of human movement and plasticity of consciousness 1900-2025

Outward movement, changing consciousness Externalization of human movement and plasticity of consciousness 1900-2025

Bergson saw human nature as a "moving being" and noted that its movement is not merely a bodily action, but has the power to change the very nature of consciousness. One of the most peculiar is the ability of human beings to "transfer their own movement out of the body. This is an important evolutionary and cultural turning point because it goes beyond mere tool use to externalize the structure of movement, making it visible and shareable.

For example, humans make tools and use tools to make another tool. In this chain of events, even the operating systems of intelligence and consciousness are constructed externally, rather than as mere extensions of limbs. What Bergson emphasizes is that this externalization of movement creates a margin inside the human being. The externalization of motor functions creates a space in the body, and that space becomes room for non-mechanical thinking, such as intuition and creativity.

Furthermore, unlike other animals, humans have the ability to imitate the actions of others and transform them to create new movements. This is closely related to the "plasticity of consciousness. The more variations in movement there are, the more diverse the circuits of consciousness become, and the better one's judgment and imagination in response to the situation. Bergson believed that these "out-of-body movements" are the medium through which the workings of consciousness are transformed.

This idea has implications for modern robotics and human extension technologies. The composition of intelligence being reconfigured outside of the body is also connected to artificial intelligence and the control of prosthetic arms and legs. And the more these technologies advance, the more our way of being conscious, and even "humanness" itself, will be transformed.

Bergson's perspective does not trivialize the understanding of evolution and intelligence to a mere matter of brain evolution or memory capacity, but extends it to the "reciprocal relationship between movement and consciousness. Outward movement is not merely an output, but a new organ of consciousness.