ABSTRACT (short)

In my master thesis, I will - from a perspective of theory of science - argue that the interdisciplinary investigations on dance within the field of cognitive science can bridge the gap between the humanities and exact sciences. By analyzing current scholarly investigations on dance in cognitive science and focusing on their research paradigms and its implicit assumptions about knowledge, I aim at substantiating my hypothesis. By drawing on theories of cognitive science (neurophenomenology, enactivism), I will hypothesize that the study of dance might cause a paradigm shift by revisiting the corporeal turn – but this time including the human body not merely in terms of theory.

For my endeavor, I will first have to clarify concepts concerning knowledge, epistemic cultures, and paradigm shift theory to establish a theoretical and a methodological framework regarding dance as a practice and dance as a research object. Secondly, I will discuss selected research projects from the fields of philosophy, neuroaesthetics and cognitive science. Finally, I will lay out my hypothesis and propose a view in which an interdisciplinary scholarly focus on dance implies a paradigm shift that on the long run may result in a reconceptualization of the relationship between the humanities and the exact sciences.