The Purpose of the Body

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Research
Cover of the book The Purpose of the Body by William A. Adams, William A. Adams
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: William A. Adams ISBN: 9780983717737
Publisher: William A. Adams Publication: October 24, 2011
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: William A. Adams
ISBN: 9780983717737
Publisher: William A. Adams
Publication: October 24, 2011
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

The body is not the mind, yet mental experience occurs in the context of the physical body and is severely constrained by the body. What is the relationship between the mind, introspectively understood, and its extremely intimate but uncommunicative partner, the body? To find out, one must question fundamental assumptions about what the body is, and that makes a dizzying journey. This essay proposes that what is taken for granted as the self-existent, biological body is instead a reified concept, a projection of mentality. That reverses the familiar causal story that the mind is somehow produced by the brain. It proposes that the physical body is a mistaken, or at least badly articulated tacit conceptualization, by the linguistic and self-aware Social Self strand of consciousness, of the non-self-aware Sensorimotor Cycle strand of consciousness. From that syncretic confusion, guided by the contextual community, the concept of the body is projected outward, away from subjectivity, and reified into a self-existent object, which is how we currently think of the body in common sense and in science. But why would mentality encumber itself by projecting a body? Wouldn’t it be better for the mind to have no body? These questions focus the larger question, what is the purpose of the body? The answer is that mentality needs its projection of embodiment to guarantee its psychological individuality, and thus its very survival in the intersubjective environment that humans live in. But what of theory of evolution, according to which, physical bodies existed long before human minds? Is there any way this new thesis can be reconciled with evolution? Some suggestions are offered that point in the direction of a reconciliation. Consequences of re-thinking the relationship of mind and body include a reconsideration of cognitive information processing, death, and metaphysics.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The body is not the mind, yet mental experience occurs in the context of the physical body and is severely constrained by the body. What is the relationship between the mind, introspectively understood, and its extremely intimate but uncommunicative partner, the body? To find out, one must question fundamental assumptions about what the body is, and that makes a dizzying journey. This essay proposes that what is taken for granted as the self-existent, biological body is instead a reified concept, a projection of mentality. That reverses the familiar causal story that the mind is somehow produced by the brain. It proposes that the physical body is a mistaken, or at least badly articulated tacit conceptualization, by the linguistic and self-aware Social Self strand of consciousness, of the non-self-aware Sensorimotor Cycle strand of consciousness. From that syncretic confusion, guided by the contextual community, the concept of the body is projected outward, away from subjectivity, and reified into a self-existent object, which is how we currently think of the body in common sense and in science. But why would mentality encumber itself by projecting a body? Wouldn’t it be better for the mind to have no body? These questions focus the larger question, what is the purpose of the body? The answer is that mentality needs its projection of embodiment to guarantee its psychological individuality, and thus its very survival in the intersubjective environment that humans live in. But what of theory of evolution, according to which, physical bodies existed long before human minds? Is there any way this new thesis can be reconciled with evolution? Some suggestions are offered that point in the direction of a reconciliation. Consequences of re-thinking the relationship of mind and body include a reconsideration of cognitive information processing, death, and metaphysics.

More books from Research

Cover of the book A Girl's Childhood by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Research Basics by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Benchmarking for Performance Evaluation by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Nursing and Healthcare Research at a Glance by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Grounded Theory by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Gestaltpsychologie kompakt by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Sex From Hell by William A. Adams
Cover of the book The ABCs of Marketing: Introduction to Marketing by William A. Adams
Cover of the book A Conceptual Introduction To Modeling by William A. Adams
Cover of the book The Timing of Neural and Behavioral Events by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Dialogical Approaches to Trust in Communication by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Summary of Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Constructing Research Questions by William A. Adams
Cover of the book Livre jaune No. 1 by William A. Adams
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy