At Hand, the Brain of Men

This paper intends to develop questions related to the creation and use of objects. We like to address the way the objects, can shape not only the world, but our self’s in the process. Taking the dichotomy brain-hand as a starting point, we wish to inquire, the interactions of the hand as a construct of the brain. The intellectual proximity between the two creates a bound: the hand acts, the brain thinks, they both create. Tendentially the hand that shapes a material, arouses as an instrument, more or less virtuous, that follows bioelectrical impulses capable of altering that material. The brain would then be the master of these movements, orchestrating the whole. The hand and its manual labour appear as subaltern of the brain, the centre of intellectual work. However, another image seems to emerge from this process. The hands shape the objects, not just as subsidiary servants of brain impulses, but as main actors. To finish we would like to arise the question of emotions and feelings, as a part of the brain process, and try to understand the effect of the fact that the hand was transformed from a prime actor to a mere supporting role.