The body plays a central role in shaping our
experience of the world. Why, then, are we so frequently
oblivious to our own bodies? We gaze at the world, but
rarely see our own eyes. We may be unable to explain how
we perform the simplest of acts. We are even less aware
of our internal organs and the physiological processes
that keep us alive. In this fascinating work, Drew Leder
examines all the ways in which the body is
''absent''--forgotten, alien, uncontrollable, obscured.
In part 1, Leder explores a wide range of bodily
functions with an eye to structures of concealment and
alienation. He discusses not only perception and
movement, skills and tools, but a variety of ''bodies''
that philosophers tend to overlook: the inner body with
its anonymous rhythms; the sleeping body into which we
nightly lapse; the prenatal body from which we first
came to be. Leder thereby seeks to challenge ''primacy
of perception.'' In part 2, Leder shows how this
phenomenology allows us to rethink traditional concepts
of mind and body. Leder argues that Cartesian dualism
exhibits an abiding power because it draws upon
life-world experiences. Descartes' corpus is filled with
disruptive bodies which can only be subdued by
exercising ''disembodied'' reason. Leder explores the
origins of this notion of reason as disembodied,
focusing upon the hidden corporeality of language and
thought. In a final chapter, Leder then proposes a new
ethic of embodiment to carry us beyond Cartesianism.
This original, important, and accessible work uses
examples from the author's medical training throughout.
It will interest all those concerned with phenomenology,
the philosophy of mind, or the Cartesian tradition;
those working in the health care professions; and all
those fascinated by the human body. |
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