The Question Of An Answer: What It Is To Be Human
The body is socially constructed; and in this paper we explore the various and
ever-changing constructions of the body, and thus of the embodied self......The
one word, body, may therefore signify very different realities and perceptions
of reality.....(Synnot 1992, 43)
It has been said that in order to understand life and society, we as
people must first understand ourselves. Who are we as a people? Who are we as
individuals? Who are we as humans? These questions all present themselves when
discussing a topic such as this. I believe that it is indeed important to ask
questions such as these, and also as important to answer them. All of this
assuming of course, that there is ...
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our "being" that are intangible. Take thoughts, dreams, and
things of the like. We know they exist, yet they are unable to be inspected
scientifically (to any valuable degree at least). The distinction between
beliefs begins here. How one views this intangible side of life with respect to
the tangible, is the factor that defines one's beliefs.
There are several ways in which one may view the body. A dualist is one
who views the body and mind, or tangible and intangible, as two separate
intities existing together to form one being. The principle of "Cogito, ergo
sum," or in english, "I think, therefore I am." The "I" meaning the mind, and
"I am" meaning the body. (Synnott 1992, 92) The tangible side of the person
being bound of course, by the laws of biomechanics and gravity, and the
intangible being bound by nothing but the laws of reasoning.
".....the body, from its nature, is always divisible and the mind is completely
indivisible." (Descartes 1995, 70)
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language dualism. (Kretchmar 1994, 37) Of the
four, object and value are by far the two most prominent. Its important to
understand that any dualist is an object dualist. The basis of object dualism
is that of dualism itself, the idea that the mind and the body are separate
intities. Value dualism however, is a bit different. A value dualist agrees
that the mind and the body are separated, yet they value the mind over the body.
A value dualist puts emphasis on the fact that the mind is superior to the body,
and in effect supervises it. "The body is distanced from the thinking person
because it is less capable." (Kretchmar 1994, 42)
The attraction of value dualism is huge. The ...
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"The Question Of An Answer: What It Is To Be Human." Essayworld.com. July 30, 2007. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Question-Of-Answer-What-Human/68835.
"The Question Of An Answer: What It Is To Be Human." Essayworld.com. July 30, 2007. Accessed April 19, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Question-Of-Answer-What-Human/68835.
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