ipl-logo

Caroline Bynum's Fragmentation And Redemption

656 Words3 Pages

Caroline Bynum’s “Fragmentation and Redemption” essay argues that the human body is integral to identity and survival in medieval and modern discussions. She aimed to clarify these similarities by drawing parallels onto concepts like teletransportation, body/brain transplants and theories of theologians and philosophers. Although Bynum presents ample evidence when talking about medieval discussions, this critique will argue that she does not however go in depth when she addresses the concepts in modern discussions. As a result, the readers are left with an imbalanced and fragmented analysis. The importance of the body to identity and material continuity was an issue widely discussed in medieval times. Philosophically speaking, that period of time was characterized by Platonic dualism underlining Aristotle’s theory that the person is the soul. This theory substantiates “a biblical view of the person as human rather than spiritual,” (255) which places the body as the heart of identity. The importance of materialism on identity raised bizarre questions like the affects of cannibalism on preserving identity. There was a belief that digested food became “of the substance of human nature,” (244) and philosopher’s like Thomas Aquinas insisted on tracking bits of matter through digestion, assimilation and reproduction. The pious viewed the division of the …show more content…

Issues like teletransportation and body/brain transplants in modern discussions to Bynum are as weird as examples of eating human embryos and wondering about the material continuity of foreskin and fingernails. It is evident however that the focus on medieval discussions is in the context of theology and eschatology while modern discussions are more relating to scientific issues on

Show More
Related

  • Renaissance Or Rebirth Dbq Essay

    350 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Renaissance or “rebirth” was a period of great scientific, artistic, and cultural advancement in Europe that gave way to many groundbreaking discoveries, such as the discovery of the heliocentric solar system (Document C), the portrayal of art in three-dimensional form (Document A), the discovery of the composition of the human body (Document D), and many other revolutionary achievements that enriched the society of Europe and their awareness of the real scientific world. During this time period, people began to understand the difference between science and religion and they developed a new understanding regarding their view of their own humanhood, or in other words, there was an evolution in man’s view of man. Through the works of

    Read More

  • Renaissance Dbq Essay

    688 Words  | 3 Pages

    Furthermore, during this period, the people of Europe depended upon the Bible to justify the world. (Background) In the 1300’s, humanism; which praised the intelligence of the individual, strived. Subsequently, the Renaissance people became more self-sufficient. Humanism was vigorous in Italy, where it made it’s way into fields such as art, science, and math.

    Read More

  • Body Ritual Among The Nacirema By Horace Miner Summary

    767 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Horace Miner's Body Ritual among the Nacirema, Miner depicted the Nacirema as a culture obsessed with rituals who focused on the human body as a whole. Miner (1956, p.503) stated that the fundamental belief underlying the whole system appears to be that the human body is ugly and that it's natural tendency is to debility and disease. This paper aims to show the main points of the article, how it is different and similar to todays modern society, and how it shows the culture of consumption and American liberal economics. Upon reading the article, one would think that the rituals being done daily would be gruesome and morbid. In my opinion, Miner did this in order to show how much an outsiders perspective can affect ones perception of a

    Read More

  • What Role Do Human Bodies Play In Roper's Witch Craze?

    573 Words  | 3 Pages

    Human bodies played a significant role in the hunt for witches and other European religious struggles. Throughout Germany, the concept of witchcraft and the obsession to stop it was at its worst from 1550 to 1650. While older women were famously the targets for accusations of witchcraft, men and children were not exempt from the terror that was the witch hunt. As described in Roper’s Witch Craze, there were multiple known influences on this phenomenon that killed so many, such as religious instability and various aspects of the human experience. One theme that is prevalent is that of women, their bodies and how the two of the aspects influenced the idea of witchcraft and way society attempted to end it.

    Read More

  • Jefferson Tant Beliefs

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    The year after this fateful meeting, the faithful congregations and the progressive ones held separate meetings from one another, establishing the unfortunate fact of a division (Ibid.

    Read More

  • Speech Sounds Octavia Butler

    1682 Words  | 7 Pages

    “In this world, the body is the word and text by which meaning is produced and received.” (Gale

    Read More

  • Anne Michaels's Fugitive Pieces: An Analysis

    1274 Words  | 6 Pages

    Language is a dual sided sword, it is a medium with which one can motivate the masses, justify unethical causes or capture the depravities the human spirit; wielded correctly this medium either enables devastating destruction or constructive rehabilitation. In her novel “Fugitive Pieces”, Anne Michaels explores the extremities of this duality before illustrating the more obscure ability of language to heal. In the novel, she develops that writing enables an individual to recollect his past and resolve his feelings of remorse , thus allowing him to overcome the traumatic memories of their past and find new meaning in life. This is evident by examining the effects of writing has upon Jakob, Ben’s father and Ben.

    Read More

  • Alcibiades Plato Analysis

    1013 Words  | 5 Pages

    Socrates in the dialogue Alcibiades written by Plato provides an argument as to why the self is the soul rather than the body. In this dialogue Alcibiades and Socrates get into a discussion on how to cultivate the self which they both mutually agree is the soul, and how to make the soul better by properly taking care of it. One way Socrates describes the relationship between the soul and the body is by analogy of user and instrument, the former being the entity which has the power to affect the latter. In this paper I will explain Socrates’ arguments on why the self is the soul and I will comment on what it means to cultivate it.

    Read More

  • My Body Is My Own Business Analysis

    525 Words  | 3 Pages

    Finally, both texts convey the concept of the body being the vessel of the mind and soul. Yusufali insists that, "It [the body] is the vessel of an intelligent mind and strong soul." (page 52). She states the importance of the body, that after all it should not be objectified as a mere tool of advertisement or to be jeered

    Read More

  • Essay On The First And Second Great Awakening

    1483 Words  | 6 Pages

    This split impacted the method of worship across the

    Read More

  • The Swerve: How The World Became Modern

    107 Words  | 1 Pages

    The rediscovery of Lucretius’ De rerum natura is considered to be one of the most contingent turning points of modern history. From its enlightened birth circa 55 BC- to its unearthing in the medieval Germany by humanist and book hunter, Poggio Bracciolini- the De rerum natura’s very existence is a miracle. In the Pulitzer Prize winning book, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern, Harvard humanities professor Stephen Greenblatt offers not only an explanation of Lucretius’ poem and its origins in Epicurus, but also explains the threat that De rerum natura posed to Catholic theology, and Lucretius’ influence on later philosophers, from Thomas More to Thomas Jefferson.

    Read More

  • Temple Of The Holy Ghost By Flannery O Connor

    920 Words  | 4 Pages

    This is a central idea of the Christian faith and is related to the idea of receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. The child's new respect for her body is a realization that her body is not something to be ashamed of or to envy, but rather something to be cherished and respected. O’connor states "She had always thought a body was a terrible burden anyway, subject to sickness and death and deformity(O’connor). " This quote shows the Christian idea that the body is imperfect and temporary, and that the soul is what truly matters. The Eucharist is seen as a way of transcending the limitations of the body and connecting with the

    Read More

  • What Does It Mean To Say That Satan Is Real

    593 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Some of the possessions in the Gospels seem rather to be the manifestation of physical illness. ”(Martin S.J.) Before the scientific era,

    Read More

  • Opposing Views Of Augustine On Immortality

    631 Words  | 3 Pages

    Augustine examines closely two opposing opinions on immortality through the lens of philosophical and scientific studies: the survival hypothesis, which asserts that the human personality will continue to exist after the death of the physical body, and the extinction hypothesis, which claims that the human personality will completely vanish after the death of the body (2). Before stating his claim in detail, he first premises that he does not deal with ethical and religious arguments (2). And then, he defines three forms of personal survival as the disembodied mind, the astral body, and resurrection (3). In fact, the difference of two arguments about immortality is derived from conflicting understanding about the interrelation between the body and mind. Although the survival hypothesis is based on dualistic view that insists separation of mind/soul from the body, the extinction hypothesis depends on inseparability.

    Read More

  • Metaphysical Ground For Humanism After Marx And Nietzsche

    1366 Words  | 6 Pages

    And can ethics exist since ‘God is dead’? In this work, Heidegger responds to these questions, arguing that in order to produce an answer, we must discard the metaphysical tradition and the idea of man as he has always been considered. We must instead change the way we perceive and consider man. We must look to metaphysics and ontology, the study of being, as, in Heidegger’s view, it rightfully was studied back to pre-Socratic times, with the study of Ereignis.

    Read More

More about Caroline Bynum's Fragmentation And Redemption

Open Document