Body as a Source of Moral Corruption
The body, intended in its broadest sense so to include all material things, has been despised by Western civilization since its inception with Ancient Greek philosophy. As Plato put it in the Phaedo: “So long as we keep it to the body and our soul is contaminated with this imperfection, there is no chance of our ever attaining satisfactorily to our object, which we assert to be truth.” The human body is no exception to this, and can actually be used as an exemplification of a more general attitude that sees in the body the roots of a corruption that is ultimately detrimental to humans.
Of course, we may find strenuous defenders of the body, such as hardcore materialists (from ancient atomists to authors like Marx or Epicureans. The mainstream, however, centered on the Platonic tradition, has it that the material is inferior to the mental. Why is it so? In this entry we will look at prejudices against the body moving from ethical considerations; in other articles I explore prejudices rooted in metaphysics, epistemology, meaning, and aesthetics.
Gluttony
The body is a source of moral corruption. This is held not simply by religious texts, but also by numerous philosophers and by common sense. Gluttony is one of the most obvious sites where moral corruption of the body can be showcased. The gluttonous person eats beyond what’s necessary for her survival and eats beyond what’s healthy for her own body; at the same time, it’s the body which prompts gluttonous behaviors, because it's the quest for pleasure of the senses – a crave for taste – that moves the gluttonous person.
Gluttony resolves the dilemma of whether we eat for pleasure or health by letting the body rule reason towards what provides most pleasure, regardless of its effects on health.
Some centuries ago, Augustine of Hyppo thus summed up the despise of altruism: "This much thou hast taught me: that I should learn to take food as medicine. But during that time when I pass from the pinch of emptiness to the contentment of fullness, it is in that very moment that the snare of appetite lies baited for me. For the passage itself is pleasant; there is no other way of passing thither, and necessity compels us to pass. And while health is the reason for our eating and drinking, yet a perilous delight joins itself to them as a handmaid; and indeed, she tries to take precedence in order that I may want to do for her sake what I say I want to do for health's sake." (Augustine, Confessions, Book X, chapter 44)?Eating forces humans to face the temptations of the body, it makes us vulnerable. The gluttonous is the person who gives in to her bodily temptations and hence, for Augustine, is a first-rate sinner.
Sex
Authors like Plato and Augustine, however, did not despise solely the body when it comes to eating. Another ordinary place where we encounter a struggle between reason and the body is sex. When sex is performed solely for pleasure, then humans fall prey of their bodily desires. Thus, not only prostitution is to despise, but also fetishes, craves, and perhaps – depending on the grounds under which sex is ever excused, if there are any – even homosexuality.
Hedonist Replies
Of course, Western philosophy has harbored also several hedonist replies to the prejudices against the body. In recent times, movements such as Slow Food have regarded pleasure as a human right, stressing not only that bodily pleasure derived from taste is unavoidable, but that it’s one of those aspects that define us as humans. Other authors have put forward parallel arguments relating to sex. The philosophical battle is still wide open.
Of course, we may find strenuous defenders of the body, such as hardcore materialists (from ancient atomists to authors like Marx or Epicureans. The mainstream, however, centered on the Platonic tradition, has it that the material is inferior to the mental. Why is it so? In this entry we will look at prejudices against the body moving from ethical considerations; in other articles I explore prejudices rooted in metaphysics, epistemology, meaning, and aesthetics.
Gluttony
The body is a source of moral corruption. This is held not simply by religious texts, but also by numerous philosophers and by common sense. Gluttony is one of the most obvious sites where moral corruption of the body can be showcased. The gluttonous person eats beyond what’s necessary for her survival and eats beyond what’s healthy for her own body; at the same time, it’s the body which prompts gluttonous behaviors, because it's the quest for pleasure of the senses – a crave for taste – that moves the gluttonous person.
Gluttony resolves the dilemma of whether we eat for pleasure or health by letting the body rule reason towards what provides most pleasure, regardless of its effects on health.
Some centuries ago, Augustine of Hyppo thus summed up the despise of altruism: "This much thou hast taught me: that I should learn to take food as medicine. But during that time when I pass from the pinch of emptiness to the contentment of fullness, it is in that very moment that the snare of appetite lies baited for me. For the passage itself is pleasant; there is no other way of passing thither, and necessity compels us to pass. And while health is the reason for our eating and drinking, yet a perilous delight joins itself to them as a handmaid; and indeed, she tries to take precedence in order that I may want to do for her sake what I say I want to do for health's sake." (Augustine, Confessions, Book X, chapter 44)?Eating forces humans to face the temptations of the body, it makes us vulnerable. The gluttonous is the person who gives in to her bodily temptations and hence, for Augustine, is a first-rate sinner.
Sex
Authors like Plato and Augustine, however, did not despise solely the body when it comes to eating. Another ordinary place where we encounter a struggle between reason and the body is sex. When sex is performed solely for pleasure, then humans fall prey of their bodily desires. Thus, not only prostitution is to despise, but also fetishes, craves, and perhaps – depending on the grounds under which sex is ever excused, if there are any – even homosexuality.
Hedonist Replies
Of course, Western philosophy has harbored also several hedonist replies to the prejudices against the body. In recent times, movements such as Slow Food have regarded pleasure as a human right, stressing not only that bodily pleasure derived from taste is unavoidable, but that it’s one of those aspects that define us as humans. Other authors have put forward parallel arguments relating to sex. The philosophical battle is still wide open.