Body and Flesh: A Philosophical Reader

The concept of the body is one of the most recent, and hotly contested areas of inquiry among philosophers today. This volume captures the different theoretical approaches at the core of the current discussion and offers studies that deal with various aspects of the constitution of the body. It is designed primarily to be used on upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses, such as philosophy of the Body, Philosophical Psychology, Gender Studies, and Contemporary Continental Philosophy, and will also be useful as a primary source for philosophers seeking a deeper understanding of the topic.

Attempting to cut a third way between the usual alternatives of social Constructionist and Naturalist approaches to the body, this collection turns to both the biological and the social sciences as a starting point for an adequate critique of the body, before moving to offer a cultural analysis. The volume blends seminal essays with the new and original pieces to take the analysis into new areas, and includes contributions from Judith Butler, Susan Bordo, Rom Harré, Maxine Sheets-Johnstone, Mary Rawlinson, Hubert Dreyfus, and Iris Young.