A contradiction about the body runs through our culture. On the one hand it is highly
valued; the ambient materialism attests to it. But, on the other hand, it is relativized
as regards its ontological status, anthropological significance and ethical implications.
The substantive challenge is to articulate what mind and body means. The human being is
the articulation of these two realities. Two dangers now lurk in all walks of life
including our everyday discourse: mind without body and body without mind.
As Christian philosophers of India, we need to address this substantive challenge. This
collection of essays presents in a single volume various approaches and perspectives
towards philosophizing the body, each perspective valid in its own terms but not
exhaustive or categorical. These multiple complementing and at times conflicting
perspectives and approaches only point out to the richness of the philosophical discussion
that this topic calls for. No attempt is made to homogenize in order to offer a single
philosophy, but instead possible ways of philosophizing the body from different
perspectives are explored. This open-ended approach is inevitable in our contemporary
times where we learn to celebrate difference and embrace heterogeneity. This work reflects
novel insights into philosophizing the body and it will hopefully be a valuable resource
for any further research on this theme.
Contents
Editorial
Part 1
Phenomenological and Existential Perspectives
1. Modernity and Exile of the Body / Nishant Alphonse Irudayadason
2. Liberating the Body : Mythonomologic Resources / Keith D'Souza
3. Humans as Bodily : A Phenomenological Probe / Johnson J. Puthenpurackal
4. Body, Desire and Insatiability / Felix Fernandes
5. Body, Gaze, Shame and Counter-Gaze / Victor Ferro
6. Body and Consciousness : From Somatic Correlates to Causes / Gregory Mathew Malayil
Part 2
Social, Political and Gender Issues
7. Body, Bio-Politics and Bioethics / S. Sekar Sebastin
8. Stereotyped Bodies : A Christian Critique of the Impact of Race, Caste, and Colour
in Contemporary Indian Society / James D. Chellappa
9. Humans for Sale : Objectification, Commodification and Reification of Human Beings /
Ashley Miranda
10. A Medieval Perspective on the Body : St. Thomas Aquinas and the Male-Female
Difference / Dolreich Pereira
11. In Search of Woman : Re-making Ourselves / Gayatri Mendanha
12. Body, Gender and Sexuality in Family / A. Pushparajan
Part 3
Approaches of Science and Technology
13. Is the Body Merely Bodily? : Reflections on the Human Body as a Symbol in Bio and
Medical Sciences / S. Stephen Jayard
14. Redesigning the Human Body in Science and Technology / Noel D'Costa
15. Body in the Media : Organs without Body / Francis Arackal
Part 4
Spiritual Dimensions
16. The Body of the Earthings in `Laudato Si' : A Philosophical Appreciation /
Kuruvilla Pandikattu
17. Fasting and Feasting : Differing Philosophies of the Body / George Karuvelil
18. Body, Suffering, Death and Afterlife / John Peter Vallabadoss
19. The Buddhist Concept of the Body / Kurian Alumkal
20. The Body in Saiva Siddhanta / Andrew Anbarasu
21. A Meditative Reflection on the Human Body : Body as Media of Dialogue and
Communication / James Purathail
Statement of ACPI Research Seminar on "Philosophizing the Body : Challenges and
Opportunities"
Contributors
Nishant Alphonse Irudayadason is a professor of Philosophy at the
Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth: Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion (JDV), Pune,
India. After having completed his doctoral studies on Derrida and Ethics at Universite
Paris-Est and in Insitut Catholique de Paris, France, he has been actively pursuing
academic life. He has presented research papers in many National and International
Conferences. He has authored two books, edited one book and penned more than 30 articles
in National and International Journals as well as in edited books. He is currently the
Chairperson of the doctoral programme in the Faculty of Philosophy at JDV. He is a regular
contributor to contemporary political analysis in "Light of Truth", a bimonthly
published from Kochi, Kerala.
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