Positivism and non-positivism, embodiment and Cartesian dualist’s mind / body divide

A positivism approach could be regarded as a research strategy and approach that is rooted on the ontological principle and idea that truth is completely separate of the viewer and observer.

From a non-positivism perspective, the observer creates their idea of reality based on their own experiences and philosophical ideas.

To me this could be explained through the question - if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?

The positivist approach may put forward that the tree falling always makes a noise, therefore if anyone was there to hear or not, makes no difference to the idea that the noise was made.

Where as a non-positivist angle could be, how do we know if the noise was made if no-one was there to hear it? Does the noise only exist for the ears of those who are listening?

I myself am torn between the two. Common sense dictates the tree made the noise, but intrigue and mystery and the want for the absolute knowing, or rather the knowing that your knowing with never be absolute, asks me to question it.

We are fed so much information as children that turns out to be white lies, no matter how well intended. As an adult you cannot help but begin to question the root of the information and the stage in which the quest for the unquestionable truth on the subject matter ended. 

To put this into an example from my past experience. At a young age my brain questioned the validity of the tooth fairy. 

My research had uncovered that no-one had actually seen this fairy. I set out to prove my hypothesis when I lost one of my baby teeth. I told my parents I wouldn't be putting the tooth out that evening because I was going to save it for when I needed it.

I remember thinking if the tooth fairy was real, she would know my tooth was there. The next day..... no 50p. When I mentioned this to my parents, their disappointed reply "We thought you weren't putting your tooth out?" 

At that very moment I knew from the tone of the response that without a doubt........my parents were in fact....the tooth fairy.

Some might look at this inquisitive child and question why I didn't have the same suspicions with Santa. Looking back at this through the lens of an adult, was I worried about the risk of finding out the real truth? If I didn't get my 50p per tooth my life didn't change that much, but the Christmas presents, that was whole new level of sacrifice.

This brings me to another thought. Do humans stop searching when the sacrifice of finding the next level of truth could become too great? 

From a monetary position as a company, do the oil companies want to find different fuels. The ultimate sacrifice is the planet but the immediate sacrifice is their profit. We only need to look at the likes of Nikola Tesla and his discoveries and ultimate ending to see how the next layer of knowledge can be prohibited.

With all of the above in mind, I can't help but turn towards a non-positivist approach through my work. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder after all.

To move this into the embodiment realm. To embody or incarnate an idea or a concept, means the human must have an understanding of the concept to begin with. Surely the embodiment is based on the beholders personal experience.

In my practice at the moment, the level 5 students are learning the choreography of Gillian Lynne's Cats. We workshopped the idea of what we believe cats to be before improvising the movements. You can see in each student's embodiment of the cat as a form how they cognitive look to a cat. If there's love, hatred, indifference, its all through each students experience. Their own true realities of a cat, so who judges the validity of the knowledge in that instance?

Looking at the world through Cartesian Dualism takes another angle of the idea of knowledge. What our mind and our body knows are two separate things. 

The interesting notion of our body sensing the difference between ice and water, but our mind knowing that these are the same thing. His statement of "I think, therefore I am" does talk to me on numerous levels though. When working in a classroom, I often use the statement "whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right". Our mind is such a powerful tool that it is important to check in mentally and stay on top of this. 

I could carry on but I feel this blog may possibly be turning into a short novel, but hopefully you have an idea for where my mind is with it all.

Any questions or ideas that you have that contradict or question my ideas please feel free to comment, I love having the light shone on areas from a new perspective. 

The way I see it, it's just the next layer of truth to be uncovered.