Disinhibiting the Body: Toward an Ontology of Subtractive Ambidexterity [Disinibire il corpo. Per un'ontologia dell'ambidestria sottrattiva]
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) July 12, 2026 Jacopo Fausto Fedeli
The human body can become ambidextrous through two distinct mechanisms. The additive path builds missing bilateral skill through repetition and Hebbian plasticity, adding a new ability. The subtractive path releases already latent bilateral symmetry by reducing chronic co-contraction and interhemispheric inhibition that kept the non-dominant side silent. Grounded in Yang-style Taiji practice and theorized through Merleau-Ponty's intentional arc and body schema, Varela's neurophenomenology, and Gallagher's body schema/body image distinction, the subtractive mechanism does not abolish lateralization but renders it elective: dominance becomes revocable rather than imposed. The work proposes a threefold taxonomy of ambidexterity (symptomatic, additive, subtractive) and formulates falsifiable predictions testable through electromyography, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and kinematic analysis.