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The relationship between our living body and our soul, our mental expressions of life and our physical environment, are both classical topics for discussion and ones which currently present themselves as part of a truly exciting philosophical debate: are we today still able to speak of a "soul"? And what is meant by a (living) body (German: "Leib")? Does our brain dictate what we will and do? Or do we have free will? Why are we the same people tomorrow that we were yesterday? Given the discoveries of the modern neural sciences, can human beings still be understood in the context of the unity of body and soul? Or should we rather define ourselves as mind-brain beings (German: Gehirn-Geist-Gestalten)?
Marcus Knaup explores these questions and discusses the most relevant approaches and arguments concerning the (living) body-soul debate. His own approach to current chal-lenges presented by modern brain research emanates from his bringing together AristotelianHylomorphism and phenomenology of the living body (German: "Leibphänomenologie").
List of contents
Preface.- Introduction.- Section One.- A. Dualism.- B. Monistic Concepts.- C. Hylomorphism.- Section Two.- A. The person and the brain.- B. Rediscovering the (living) body ("Leib").- C. Paths to consciousness.- D. A unity of body and soul or mind-brain being?.- E. Brain research as threat to the liberty of the person.- Conclusion.
About the author
Dr. Marcus Knaup is researcher at the FernUniverität Hagen in Germany.
Summary
The relationship between our living body and our soul, our mental expressions of life and our physical environment, are both classical topics for discussion and ones which currently present themselves as part of a truly exciting philosophical debate: are we today still able to speak of a “soul”? And what is meant by a (living) body (German: “Leib”)? Does our brain dictate what we will and do? Or do we have free will? Why are we the same people tomorrow that we were yesterday? Given the discoveries of the modern neural sciences, can human beings still be understood in the context of the unity of body and soul? Or should we rather define ourselves as mind-brain beings (German: Gehirn-Geist-Gestalten)?
Marcus Knaup explores these questions and discusses the most relevant approaches and arguments concerning the (living) body-soul debate. His own approach to current chal-lenges presented by modern brain research emanates from his bringing together AristotelianHylomorphism and phenomenology of the living body (German: “Leibphänomenologie”).
