RE: Mind/Body dualism What's the deal?

Brian writes: >This notion is much older than this, I get it from the ancient >Greeks and their notion of "Vitruvian Man" later picked up by the >Romans and Leonardo De Vinci, and perhaps epitomized by >Michelangelo's David. > >This is rooted in the idea that a sound mind in a sound body is >perhaps the most useful of combinations, and in fact support each >other. > >Sound wisdom in my book.

You're completely right Brian, a good book on the body since greek times has been written by Anthony Synott, called The Body Social, It charts various themes of the body like dualism, body as self, body as sin, body as machine and back again to body as self. The reason  didn't go back to the greeks in that message is because I'm looking more directly at the modern self in the context of new technologies, and furthmore related to both sexes. Although I'm not up on my greek and roman history, I beleive much of the fascination in the body was male orientated, though there were obvious exceptions. I think female bodies have gone through more severe changes in concpetion than male bodies, particulrly in the 15 to 18th century - even later, where the female body was seen as the site of transgression, evil sexuality, wondering wombs, temptation, witchlike and devious. Where as the male body has largely been seen as atheletic, strong, dominant....o.k. perhaps female bodies have also been seen as beautiful - usually by artists. But the medical profession havc certainly given the feamle body a hard time. Anyway, the reason I chose to begin later than the greeks was because not till the last couple of centuries have both females and males ben able to enhance thier appearance and bodily functions, and not since the last 40 or so years have they been able to do it through technology. (Give or take those who has the money to take potions and lotions before this)

But yes, you're right and I think I may have to revise the historical part of my paper to include the greek body and the platonian mind. Thanks

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>The Olympics being the current tip of this metaphorical iceberg >with professional sports in a close tie. > > > >Now the problem that I'm getting though is that extropians want to > >modify and enhance themselves through science and technology - > >their goal is immortality or at least longivity. Now this goal is > >based on being able to create/design a better body, one that > >does not have the fraility and limitations of the present > >biological one so aren't you just as obsessed with the body as > >those people who go down the gym everyday and bust a gut also > >trying to create the ideal body? So you're question below about > >strange ideas about the body doesn't make sense to me. > >As a matter of fact I am in the gym 6 days a week pursuing the >ideas indicated above, but I also study 7 days a week as part of >the same program. > >Enhancement falls right into this line, I'm convinced the ancient >Greeks/Romans would have engaged in it had they had the technology. > >Extropians spend a great deal of time talking and thinking about >thinks other than themselves, since we want to live in a better >world or worlds, so I don't think obsessive fits. > >Is it obsessive to want to better yourself? >