Phenomenology of the Body (Philosophy)

Dôgen no “shinshin ichinyo” — chôetsuronteki tachiba kara no ichi kôsatsu.

by Raji C. Steineck

Published in: Ningen sonzai ron 9 (2003). Kyoto: Kyôto daigaku daigakuin ningen
/kankyô gaku kenkyûka sôgô ningen gakubu “Ningen sonzai ron” kankôkai, pp. 73-88.

Brain death, philosophical anthropology, and the body-mind problem

by Raji C. Steineck

Published in: S. Shôji, A. Tamaoka. (ed.): Proceedings of [sic] International Congress on Ethical Issues in Brain Death and Organ Transplantation, Tsukuba, Nov. 1-2, 2003. Tsukuba 2004, pp. 24-36.

In the 'classical' literature in favour of the normative concept of brain death (i.e. brain death as an ethically and... more In the 'classical' literature in favour of the normative concept of brain death (i.e. brain death as an ethically and legally valid criterion for the death of human beings), references to modern philosophical anthropology and body-mind-theory are conspicuously absent. Given the fact, evidenced by this very literature itself, that the normative concept of brain death touches directly on our understanding of what it means to be human, this absence of philosophical theory is peculiar at least. In my presentation, I give an evaluation of the concept of brain death in the light of 20th century discussions on philosophical anthropology and body-mind theory, with a focus on 'rationalist' Continental philosophers like E. Cassirer and H. Plessner. The normative concept of brain death comes in two forms. One assumes that the death of the brain signifies the end of organic life. This notion will be discussed in terms of Plessner's theory of the organism as a positional entity. It will be argued that singling out dysfunction or destruction of the brain is not a correct way of asserting death. A second version of the brain death concept takes brain death to signify the end of personal, and hence, social life. Its analysis requires a theory of the body that differentiates and integrates its biological, personal, and social dimension. Such a theory will be briefly sketched out with reference to Cassirer's Philosophy of Symbolic Forms. The notion of brain death as 'death of the person' will be analysed accordingly. It will be shown that, and why, the life of a person is coextensive with the perceptible life of the body.

Inter-Integralism ~~~ Critical Perspectives on Advanced and Adequate Phenomenology and “Pheno-Practice” for Integral Research

by Wendelin Kuepers

draft

This contribution investigates the status of phenomenology in integral theory. In particular it will problematise the... more This contribution investigates the status of phenomenology in integral theory. In particular it will problematise the classification of life-worldly phenomenology as a discipline located only in the interior upper-left quadrant or as a Zone 1 perspective in Wilber’s integral model and methodology.
Based on main ideas of classical (Husserlian) phenomenology and its various critiques and further developments, the treatment in integral (AQAL) theory is discussed critically. Especially the ordering of phenomenology into a separate field or zone, the status of consciousness, including the debate related to its structure and states, and inter-subjective dimensions as well as the relation to contemplation and meditation are examined systematically.
Furthermore, then with regard to the more advanced form of phenomenology as developed by Merleau-Ponty its proto-integral potential will be outlined. It will be argued that activating this potential may contributes to correct some of the weaknesses and limitations of conventional integral theory. 
Moreover, it will be proposed that advanced phenomenology provides the foundations for an “adequate phenomenology” in integral research. As part of this more adequate phenomenology and its ontological, epistemological, and methodological dimension some perspectives on what is called integral “pheno-practice” will be offered.
All in all, it is hoped that the critical exploration of phenomenology in its more proto-integral, adequate and pheno-practical forms might enrich integral research, improve its theory building and empirical testing by offering a more inclusive, coherent approach as part of an overarching holarchical ecology of integrative knowledge and practice

The truth of the body: the liberating role of physical (and mental) boundaries in asubhabhāvanā

by Giuliano Giustarini

2009, « Habitus, Freedom and Reflexivity », in Theory and Psychology Volume 19, no. 6, pp. 728-755.

by Mathieu Hilgers

The question of freedom is recurrent in the theory of habitus. In this paper I propose that the notion of freedom is... more The question of freedom is recurrent in the theory of habitus. In this paper I propose that the notion of freedom is an essential and necessary component for the coherence of the analyses which mobilize habitus both in terms of their theoretical articulation and in terms of their grounding in empirical reality. This argument can seem surprising considering that the theory of habitus has often been accused of being deterministic. Yet I show that, from an epistemological point of view, habitus theory is not deterministic. Bourdieu’s treatment of this concept implies at least three principles that exclude determinism: (1) the production of an infinite number of behaviors from a limited number of principles, (2) permanent mutation, and (3) the intensive and extensive limits of sociological understanding. After identifying and describing these principles, I show the reason for their incompatibility with a deterministic perspective and consider their implications for the corresponding model of action. I illustrate this analysis by a discussion of Loïc Wacquant’s carnal sociology of the pugilistic universe which reveals why it is essential to understand and explain the relation between habitus and freedom.

Power and semiosis

by Katya Mandoki

Declerck, G. (2011). L’insoutenable pesanteur de l’être. Pesanteur physique et pesanteur ontologique dans la pensée de Heidegger

by Gunnar Declerck

Complete reference:
Declerck, G. (2011). L’insoutenable pesanteur de l’être. Pesanteur physique et pesanteur ontologique dans la pensée de Heidegger. Revue philosophique de Louvain, vol. 109, n°3, pp.489-525, DOI 10.2143/RPL.109.3.2131168.

Résumé
La finalité de ce texte est de questionner l’usage que fait Heidegger, du début à la fin de son œuvre, du... more Résumé
La finalité de ce texte est de questionner l’usage que fait Heidegger, du début à la fin de son œuvre, du champ lexical de la pesanteur pour exprimer le rapport du Dasein à l’être, rapport pensé sous la figure de la prise en charge. Après avoir rappelé le contexte et les passages où Heidegger mobilise ce champ lexical, et en avoir proposé une interprétation dans l’orbe de la conceptualité de l’analytique existentiale, nous tenterons de mettre à jour les raisons qui ont pu le pousser, en quelque sorte à son insu, à placer le rapport du Dasein à l’être sous le signe du phénomène de pesanteur. Nous chercherons à ce titre à montrer, depuis une description phénoménologique de l’expérience de la pesanteur physique (poids du corps propre aussi bien que poids des objets) que cette convocation du phénomène de poids pour dire l’épreuve ontologique constitutive du Dasein, loin d’être anodine, est motivée par la structure même de ce phénomène – phénomène où le Dasein est conduit à expérimenter de manière privilégiée le « qu’il est et a à être » où se réalise originairement sa compréhension de l’être.

Abstract
The aim of this text is to question the use made by Heidegger, from the start to the end of his work, of the lexical field of weight to express the relationship of Dasein to being, a relationship thought under the modality of taking on a load. Having recalled the context and the passages in which Heidegger mobilises this lexical field, and having proposed an interpretation in the sphere of the conceptuality of the existential analytic, we shall attempt to bring to light the reasons that may have led him, somehow unwittingly, to place the relationship of Dasein to being under the heading of the phenomenon of weight. We shall seek in this regard to show from a phenomenological description of the experience of physical weight (weight of the body proper as well as the weight of objects) that this convocation of the phenomenon of weight to express the ontological experience constitutive of Dasein, far from being anodyne, is motivated by the very structure of this phenomenon – a phenomenon in which Dasein is led to experience in a privileged way the “that he is and has to be” in which his understanding of being is originally realised. (translated by J. Dudley)

Corpo, Senso, Estraneo. Filosofie della corporeità da Platone a Husserl

by Marco Cavallaro

Place, Place Identity, and Phenomenology

by David Seamon

A chapter in The Role of Place Identity in the Perception, Understanding, and Design of the Built Environment, Hernan Casakin, Ombretta Romice, & Sergio Porta, editors. London: Betham Science Publishers, 2011. © 2011 David Seamon.

As recent phenomenological studies have demonstrated (Casey 1997, 2009; Malpas 1999, 2006; Mugerauer 2008; Stefanovic... more As recent phenomenological studies have demonstrated (Casey 1997, 2009; Malpas 1999, 2006; Mugerauer 2008; Stefanovic 2000), the phenomenon of place is a multivalent structure sophisticated and complex in its existential constitution. In this chapter, I offer one phenomenological vantage point from which to examine this lived complexity. I contend that, as an integral structure of human life, place can be understood in terms of three dimensions: first, the geographical ensemble—i.e., the material environment, including both its natural and human-made dimensions; second, people-in-place, including individual and group actions, intentions, and meanings; and, third, spirit of place, or genius loci.

Drawing on the conceptual approach of “systematics” developed by the British philosopher J. G. Bennett, I argue that these three dimensions can engage in six different ways, each of which relates to one particular lived mode whereby place contributes to human life. These six modes are: (1) place interaction; (2) place identity; (3) place creation; (4) place intensification; (5) place realization; and (6) place release.

I argue that place identity is important for understanding the nature of place but is complemented by other modes of relationship that together help clarify the complexity and richness of place and place experience.

Logos of the Lived Body: Remembering the Way Home

by Matthew David Segall

Merleau-Ponty, Perception, and Environmental Embodiment: Implications for Architectural and Environmental Studies

by David Seamon

chapter prepared for Carnal Echoes: Merleau-Ponty and the Flesh of Architecture, Rachel McCann and Patricia M. Locke, editors, forthcoming, 2012 or 2013. © David Seamon 2010.

In this chapter, I draw on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy to explore environmental embodiment—the various lived ways,... more In this chapter, I draw on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy to explore environmental embodiment—the various lived ways, sensorily and motility-wise, that the body in its pre-reflective perceptual presence engages and synchronizes with the world at hand, especially its architectural and environmental aspects. First, I consider Merleau-Ponty’s interpretation of perception, giving particular attention to his claim that perception involves a lived dynamic between perceptual body and world such that aspects of the world—for example, the heavy hardness of a granite block or the cool smoothness of a chrome railing—are known because they immediately evoke in the lived body their experienced qualities.

Second, I consider the architectural and environmental significance of what Merleau-Ponty calls body-subject—pre-reflective corporeal awareness expressed through action and typically in sync with and enmeshed in the physical world in which the action unfolds. I focus on the taken-for-granted sensibility of body-subject to manifest in extended ways over time and space. I ask how routine actions and behaviors of individuals coming together regularly in an environment can transform that environment into a place with a unique dynamic and character—a lived situation I term place ballet. For both perception and body-subject, I consider how qualities of the physical and designable world—for example, materiality, form, and spatiality—contribute to the lived body’s engagement with and actions in the world.

Da eticidade própria às práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais

by Herlon Bezerra

BEZERRA, Herlon A. Da eticidade própria às práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais. (Apresentação Oral). I Seminário do Lab. de Psicologia em Subjetividade e Sociedade (LAPSUS) - “Consumo, Ética e Brasilidade”. 04 e 05.11.2004.

Num momento cultural em que não são mais possíveis nem as garantias fundamentais da tradição nem a referência moderna... more Num momento cultural em que não são mais possíveis nem as garantias fundamentais da tradição nem a referência moderna à vontade livre de um Eu soberano como instâncias últimas de decisão ética, jurídica e política, revelam-se as práticas psicológicas fenomenológico existenciais, em seu compromisso com aquele horizonte da trágica verdade humana, fundamento da irrepetível singularidade de seu existir que se subtrai por essência a toda captura por parte do conhecer, uma bem sucedida resposta cultural ao modo como se coloca contemporaneamente o problema irrecusável da verdade e sentido da ação humana no mundo – núcleo originário mesmo das questões éticas.

A study on the metaphor of social exclusion from embodied cognition

by Zeng Wang

The research seeks to further understand the metaphor between social exclusion and coldness. In study 1, participants... more The research seeks to further understand the metaphor between social exclusion and coldness. In study 1, participants primed with social exclusion estimated that food contains more calories, compared with participants in the control condition, while in study 2, participants categorized words presented on a computer screen. However, social exclusion words were categorized more quickly in the cold font than in the hot font. These findings are consistent with the embodied cognition theory. The research demonstrates that the priming of social exclusion induces an actual feeling of coldness, and the connection between social exclusion and physical coldness is automatic and unconscious.

Etendre la perception? Biofeedback et transferts intermodaux en danse

by Armando Menicacci

Extending perception. Biofeedback and intermodal exchange is a paper result of an experiment in Monaco Dance Forum (December 2004) about using wireless sensors in dance.

We brought together a few researchers in order to bring the experience of wireless sensors for biofeedback inside... more We brought together a few researchers in order to bring the experience of wireless sensors for biofeedback inside pedagogy of dance in order to extend the proprioception. The results of the experiment went beyond that and led to a possible way to mesure body response according to change in space perception and to different way define proprioception.

Da Totalidade ao Infinito - Quanto às possibilidades de superação das limitações éticas da Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea: um estudo à luz do pensamento de Emmanuel Lévinas

by Herlon Bezerra

BEZERRA, Herlon A. Da Totalidade ao Infinito - Quanto às possibilidades de superação das limitações éticas da Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea: um estudo à luz do pensamento de Emmanuel Lévinas. Universidade Federal do Ceará. Programa de Pós-graduação em Filosofia. Fortaleza: 2006.(Dissertação)

Este trabalho apresenta dois contextos significadores últimos: (1) por um lado, deve o mesmo ser entendido como... more Este trabalho apresenta dois contextos significadores últimos: (1) por um lado, deve o mesmo ser entendido como participante dos jogos argumentativos praticados na tradição hermenêutica do pensamento filosófico, particularmente naquele espaço teorético que reúne Fenomenologia, Pensamento Existencial e as Filosofias da Vida; (2) por outro lado, este exercício compartilha das preocupações morais que marcam a humanidade nos últimos séculos, em especial àquelas que dizem respeito à possibilidade e necessidade de significação ético-filosófica do multiculturalismo, tenso e caótico, que marca as urbanizadas sociedades contemporâneas, visando produzir condições culturais globais capazes de possibilitar a convivência pacífica entre as inúmeras diferenças em choque cotidiano. Nesse sentido, o mesmo encontra suas direções investigativas nas seguintes pressuposições: embora seja a Ética uma particularidade cultural grega, foi mesma “imposta” às mais diversas culturas “incorporadas” pelo violento processo
global de expansão e domínio em que se possibilitou, estabeleceu e desenvolveu a Civilização Ocidental. Os efeitos das evidentes contradições morais de tal processo
impõem severas limitações éticas à Cultura Ocidental Contemporânea, uma vez que, em resposta a tais contradições, dissemina-se o relativismo como único critério universal de julgamento ético das condutas, quer de indivíduos quer de
coletividades humanas. À luz do pensamento ético de Emmanuel Lévinas, propõe-se neste trabalho que a possibilidade de superação ética de tal condição cultural reside numa difícil escolha a ser hoje realizada pela consciência filosófica: de um
lado, a reposição do universalismo, fictício e violento, possibilitado na tendência intelectualista do logos grego e as abstrações de suas Luzes; de outro, a assunção das exigências advindas da imediaticidade concreta da Sensibilidade e da Proximidade, única fonte para uma universalidade humanamente significativa, já que pré-originária do próprio humano e, assim, anterior a toda possível cultura.

no subject oder Die Geburt des "ja" aus dem Geiste der Verschwindung des Körpers. K(l)eine Geschichte des Subjekts im Poststrukturalismus

by Artur R. Boelderl

In German.
Bibliographical reference:
In: Heinrich Schmidinger/Michael Zichy (eds.), Tod des Subjekts? Poststrukturalismus und christliches Denken, Innsbruck: Tyrolia 2005 (= Salzburger Theologische Studien, vol. 24), pp. 171-212

Declerck, G. (2009). Pesanteur et facticité : pertinence et insuffisances de la pensée de Heidegger pour une phénoménologie du poids.

by Gunnar Declerck

Complete reference :
Declerck, G. (2009). Pesanteur et facticité : pertinence et insuffisances de la pensée de Heidegger pour une phénoménologie du poids. Alter, revue de phénoménologie, n°17/2009, « Le monde social », 175-194.

Declerck, G. (2010). Éléments pour une interprétation phénoménologique de la pesanteur.

by Gunnar Declerck

Complete reference :
Declerck, G. (2010). Éléments pour une interprétation phénoménologique de la pesanteur. Intellectica, n°53-54, « Philosophie, Technologie, Cognition », 401-432.

Ce texte vise à mettre en place une série d’éléments devant servir de fondement à une interprétation phénoménologique... more Ce texte vise à mettre en place une série d’éléments devant servir de fondement à une interprétation phénoménologique de la pesanteur, à savoir une caractérisation de la pesanteur telle qu’elle se montre et fait sens pour l’individu dans son rapport quotidien, « préréflexif », au monde. Bien que les réflexions ici proposées soient prioritairement à rattacher à la philosophie, nous convoquerons une série d’observations issues des sciences empiriques – au premier chef la psychologie – pour appuyer leur cheminement. Après avoir montré, sur la base d’un ensemble de résultats de la psychologie, que le poids d’un objet manipulé est spontanément évalué/perçu par l’individu sur la base de l’effort requis pour le soulever, et que l’amplitude de l’effort devant être fourni pour développer un niveau de force donné est elle-même proportionnée à la capacité de production de force variable dont dispose l’individu, nous proposerons une première caractérisation phénoménologique de la pesanteur. Nous chercherons à partir de là à mettre en lumière les structures qui, du côté du sujet percevant, rendent possible la manifestation de quelque chose de tel que le poids. Deux idées principales s’imposeront : d’une part, la pesanteur peut être comprise comme une des manières dont l’individu se rend intelligible son monde en référant l’objet qu’il manipule à la prise dont il dispose, au sens de la latitude de son pouvoir d’action ; d’autre part, parce que le poids n’est pas quelque chose que l’on voit mais quelque chose que l’on supporte, quelque chose qui pour être perçu doit être pris en charge, seul un percevant capable de se rapporter à soi comme à une puissance finie, un être en perpétuel épuisement, aura la conformation requise pour rencontrer quelque chose de tel que le poids – pour ouvrir un monde où règne la pesanteur.

The experience of the body in chronic illness

by Jehangir Saleh

This is a draft version of a paper I have given at York University's Graduate Conference in Disability Studies (2011), and at The Making Sense of Health, Illness and Disease conference at Oxford University (2007).

Working from a phenomenological standpoint, as well as my own experience living with cystic fibrosis, I argue that... more Working from a phenomenological standpoint, as well as my own experience living with cystic fibrosis, I argue that chronic illness involves a disruption of the relations between the self and the world that shape my immediate sense of both. Merleau-Ponty argues that the body is typically experienced as an “impersonal power” that facilitates my access to the world. The ill body, however, is experienced as an intruder that shuts off my access to the world. Chronic illness, then, insofar as it involves being permanently alienated from my body, also involves being permanently alienated from the world. I then draw upon Hegel’s arguments about the nature of work to show how the work of caring for a chronically ill body involves deferring myself to the demands of my ill body, thus experiencing my illness as an “agent” that sets the terms of my agency. In living with a chronic illness, I thus discover, within my experience, the ambiguous nature of embodiment: it is as embodied that I am an agent in the world, but this same body places limits on my agency, for it has a life of its own.

The Body and the Sacred In the Digital Age: Thoughts on Posthuman Sexuality

by Brett Lunceford

Lunceford, Brett. “The Body and the Sacred in the Digital Age: Thoughts on Posthuman Sexuality.” Theology and Sexuality, 15, no. 1 (2009): 77-96.

Considerable scholarly discussion has been given to the idea that we are moving toward a state of “posthumanism.” This... more Considerable scholarly discussion has been given to the idea that we are moving toward a state of “posthumanism.” This essay examines some possible implications of a posthuman existence, specifically as it relates to that most basic of human needs—sexuality. I explore the spiritual aspects of sexuality to see what is lost and what is gained in technologically mediated forms of sexuality. To that end, I consider the interplay between sexual behavior and our conceptions of the sacred, how technologies are changing our views of—and realities concerning—our bodies, and the potential for a sacred posthuman sexuality.