Friday, May 31, 2019

What It Is To Be Human :: essays research papers

What It Is To Be HumanThe body is socially constructed and in this paper we explore the various andever-changing constructions of the body, and thus of the embodied self......Theone word, body, may thence signify very different realities and perceptionsof reality.....(Synnot 1992, 43)It has been said that in order to understand life and society, we aspeople must first understand ourselves. Who are we as a people? Who are we asindividuals? Who are we as humans? These questions all present themselves whendiscussing a topic such as this. I take that it is indeed important to askquestions such as these, and also as important to answer them. All of thisassuming of course, that there is one specific answer. My riddle begins here,in that I do not believe that there is one defined answer to these questions.As you will see, many "great philosophic minds" make up different views and beliefsrelating to these questions, and it is my job to sort through these differentbeliefs and disc over...... What it is to be human     It seems that for ages the human body has been studied and inspected.However, literal "inspection" only takes us so far. As humans, we all know thatthere are parts of our "being" that are in obvious. Take thoughts, dreams, andthings of the like. We know they exist, yet they are unable to be inspectedscientifically (to any valuable degree at least). The distinction betweenbeliefs begins here. How one views this intangible side of life with respect tothe tangible, is the factor that defines ones beliefs.     There are several(prenominal) ways in which one may view the body. A dualist is onewho views the body and mind, or tangible and intangible, as two separateintities existing unitedly to form one being. The principle of "Cogito, ergosum," or in english, "I think, therefore I am." The "I" meaning the mind, and"I am" meaning the body. (Synnott 1992, 92) The ta ngible side of the personbeing bound of course, by the laws of biomechanics and gravity, and theintangible being bound by nothing but the laws of reasoning.".....the body, from its nature, is always divisible and the mind is in allindivisible." (Descartes 1995, 70)     Like anything, dualism comes with its pros and cons. Many peoplechoose to believe in the idea of dualism because of its truths. Obviously, wecan all see that indeed, the body is real and tangible, and that the mind on the some other hand is the intangible, although it too is real. Likewise, as evidence ofdualism we have undoubtedly felt the physical as well as the non-physical.

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