Fingerspitzengefühl
Encyclopedia
Fingerspitzengefühl ˈfɪŋɐˌʃpɪtsənɡəˌfyːl is a German
term, literally meaning "finger tips feeling" and meaning intuitive flair or instinct, which has been appropriated by the English language
as a loanword
. In military terminology it is used for the stated ability of some military commanders, such as Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel
, to maintain with great accuracy in attention to detail an ever-changing operational
and tactical
situation by maintaining a mental map
of the battlefield. The term is synonymous with the English expression of "keeping one's finger on the pulse". The mental image given is of a military commander who is in such intimate communication with the battlefield that it is as though he has a fingertip on each critical point, expressed in the 18th and 19th centuries as "having a feel for combat".
The term is only figurative
, and cannot in itself give a realistic picture of the ability being described. It is cognitively related to personal possession of multiple intelligences
, notably those pertinent to visual and spatial data processing. The term indicates that in addition to any discursive processing of information
that the commander may be conducting (i.e., mental thinking through things in inner discourse), something else is going on, the simultaneous assignment of cognitive relationships between disparate pieces of information reaching the commander and immediate re-synthesis of the whole picture.
Even though there is no physical connection between the commander and his troops, other than conduits for discursive information such as radio signals, it is as if he had his own sensitive presence in each spot.
One of the functions of a static map is to allow a traveler to decide upon a course of action suitable for getting from one point to another. In times of war, the terrain and the troops and weapons deployed upon it can be changed much more rapidly than cartographers can change their maps. The mind of the superb commander must maintain such a map and adjust it by constantly incorporating any information that he gets that may allow him to tweak his inner picture.
The concept may be compared to ideas about intuition
and neural net programming
. The same phenomenon, but conceptualized in a radically different way, seems to be described by D.T. Suzuki in swordsmanship teaching stories recounted in his Zen and Japanese Culture, and given in analytical detail in Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis
(Fromm, Suzuki and De Martino).
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
term, literally meaning "finger tips feeling" and meaning intuitive flair or instinct, which has been appropriated by the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as a loanword
Loanword
A loanword is a word borrowed from a donor language and incorporated into a recipient language. By contrast, a calque or loan translation is a related concept where the meaning or idiom is borrowed rather than the lexical item itself. The word loanword is itself a calque of the German Lehnwort,...
. In military terminology it is used for the stated ability of some military commanders, such as Field-Marshal Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
, to maintain with great accuracy in attention to detail an ever-changing operational
Operational warfare
Operational mobility, beginning as a military theory concept during the period of mechanisation of armed forces, became a method of managing movement of forces by strategic commanders from the staging area to their Tactical Area of Responsibility....
and tactical
Military tactics
Military tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
situation by maintaining a mental map
Mental mapping
The concept of a mental map may refer to a person's personal point-of-view perception of their own world. Although this kind of subject matter would seem most likely to be studied by fields in the social sciences, this particular subject is most often studied by modern day geographers in order to...
of the battlefield. The term is synonymous with the English expression of "keeping one's finger on the pulse". The mental image given is of a military commander who is in such intimate communication with the battlefield that it is as though he has a fingertip on each critical point, expressed in the 18th and 19th centuries as "having a feel for combat".
The term is only figurative
Figurative
Figurative may refer to:*Figurative art*Figurative language*Neo-figurative art...
, and cannot in itself give a realistic picture of the ability being described. It is cognitively related to personal possession of multiple intelligences
Theory of multiple intelligences
The theory of multiple intelligences was proposed by Howard Gardner in 1983 as a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into various specific modalities, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability....
, notably those pertinent to visual and spatial data processing. The term indicates that in addition to any discursive processing of information
Information processing
Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...
that the commander may be conducting (i.e., mental thinking through things in inner discourse), something else is going on, the simultaneous assignment of cognitive relationships between disparate pieces of information reaching the commander and immediate re-synthesis of the whole picture.
Even though there is no physical connection between the commander and his troops, other than conduits for discursive information such as radio signals, it is as if he had his own sensitive presence in each spot.
One of the functions of a static map is to allow a traveler to decide upon a course of action suitable for getting from one point to another. In times of war, the terrain and the troops and weapons deployed upon it can be changed much more rapidly than cartographers can change their maps. The mind of the superb commander must maintain such a map and adjust it by constantly incorporating any information that he gets that may allow him to tweak his inner picture.
The concept may be compared to ideas about intuition
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
and neural net programming
Neural network software
Neural network software is used to simulate, research, develop and apply artificial neural networks, biological neural networks and in some cases a wider array of adaptive systems.-Simulators:...
. The same phenomenon, but conceptualized in a radically different way, seems to be described by D.T. Suzuki in swordsmanship teaching stories recounted in his Zen and Japanese Culture, and given in analytical detail in Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
(Fromm, Suzuki and De Martino).
See also
- Fog of warFog of warThe fog of war is a term used to describe the uncertainty in situation awareness experienced by participants in military operations. The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign...
- C4ISTARC4ISTARIn military usage, a number of abbreviations in the format C followed by additional letters are used, based on expanded versions of the abbreviation C2 - command and control.C2I stands for command, control, and intelligence....
- Command and control (military)Command and Control (military)Command and control, or C2, in a military organization can be defined as the exercise of authority and direction by a properly designated commanding officer over assigned and attached forces in the accomplishment of the mission...
- Network-centric warfareNetwork-centric warfareNetwork-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations, is a military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense in the 1990's....