Being A Lived Body

The Lived Body takes a fresh look at the notion of human embodiment and provides an ideal textbook for undergraduates on the growing number of courses on the sociology of the body. The authors propose a new approach - an 'Embodied Sociology' - one which makes embodiment central rather than peripheral. They critically examine the dualist legacies of the past, assessing the ideas of a range of key thinkers, from Marx to Freud, Foucault to Giddens, Deleuze to Guattari and Irigary to Grosz, in terms of the bodily themes and issues they address. They also explore new areas of research, including the 'fate' of embodiment in late modernity, sex, gender, medical technology and the body, the sociology of emotions, pain, sleep and artistic representations of the body. The Lived Body will provide students and researchers in medical sociology, health sciences, cultural studies and philosophy with clear, accessible coverage of the major theories and debates in the sociology of the body and a challenging new way of thinking.

This book begins with the distinction between the so-called lived body or felt body (Leib) and the physical body (Körper), tracing the conceptual history of this distinction through key figures in philosophical and social thoughts and articulating a theory of the lived body that draws on the New Phenomenology developed by Hermann Schmitz. An explanation of our being-in-the-world in terms of a felt-bodily communication with all perceived forms and their affective-bodily resonance in us, Being a Lived Body integrates and critically assesses the leading theories of embodiment while presenting a new approach to the body. It will, therefore, appeal to scholars of philosophy, social theory, and anthropology with interests in phenomenology and embodiment.

This book begins with the distinction between the so-called 'lived body' or 'felt body' (Leib) and the 'physical body' (Körper), tracing the conceptual history of this distinction through key figures in philosophical and social thought and articulating a theory of the lived body that draws on the New Phenomenology developed by Hermann Schmitz. An explanation of our being-in-the-world in terms of a felt-bodily communication with all perceived forms and their affective-bodily resonance in us, "Being a Lived Body" integrates and critically assesses the leading theories of embodiment, while presenting a new approach to the body. It will therefore appeal to scholars of philosophy, social theory and anthropology with interests in phenomenology and embodiment.

Paul Ricoeur and the Lived Body extends the scope of Paul Ricoeur’s reflections and analyses of the body as one’s own through explorations into the ethical, cultural, and affective dimensions of our corporeal existence. Starting with the fact that each of us has a place in the world by reason of our mode of incarnation as flesh, the contributors to this volume address a range of diverse themes in which the lived body figures. Edited by Roger W. H. Savage, this book investigates the construction of narrative identities and the social assignment of gender and race, the passions and an ethics of respect, affect theory, feeling, the carnal imagination, and the cultural and social milieu that comprises the conditions of our embodiment as subjects who have deeply held convictions and beliefs. By acknowledging that the lived body is irreducible to an object in the world, the essays in this volume have a common point: our assurance in acting and suffering is rooted in the mode of our incarnate existence as fragile yet capable human beings.

In her remarkable book, Sondra Horton Fraleigh examines and describes dance through her consciousness of dance as an art, through the experience of dancing, and through the existential and phenomenological literature on the lived body. She describes, with performance photographs, specific imagery in dance masterworks by Doris Humphrey, Anna Sokolow, Viola Farber, Nina Weiner, and Garth Fagan.

"Embodied Inquiry is offered to all who want to deepen the connection to their bodies. Here is the inspiration to see your body as a place of inquiry, learning, understanding and perceiving. Listening to the sensual knowing and aliveness within the body can inform our personal and professional lives and reveal the connections between living, being, and creating. Snowber writes this book in poetic and visceral language as a love letter from the body wooing readers to inhabit their own skins and celebrate the beautiful and paradoxical place where limitations and joy dwell together. Touching on the vastness of our body’s call to us, Embodied Inquiry explores solitude, paradox, inspiration, lament, waking up to the sensuous, ecology, listening, and writing from the body. This is not a manual, but a book to accompany you in befriending the body and let your own gestures, stories and bodily ways of being lead you to listen to your own rhythm. Whether an artist or educator, researcher or administrator, performer or poet, seeker or scientist, you will find this book as a companion to sustain a vibrant life and co-create a better world. “A beautiful, creative and highly original book. Written with passion and wisdom, this book makes significant contributions to arts-based research, artistic research practice, embodiment, and living artful, intentional and connected lives. A stunning achievement.” – Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., author of Method Meets Art and editor of the Social Fictions series “Snowber offers wisdom for learning to live exotically, erotically, emotionally, and ecstatically. Reading Embodied Inquiry is like walking on a wilderness trail, in sunlight-infused rain, learning to embrace the possibilities of vitality and vulnerability, joy and grief, love and loss.” – Carl Leggo, Ph.D., poet & professor, University of British Columbia “Weaving prose and poetry, Snowber awakens our sensual and embodied self at the very roots of living. This deeply personal work will move educators, researchers, artists, and those for whom lived experience is core to their creative processs.” – Daniel Deslauriers, Ph.D., Professor, Transformative Studies Doctorate Program, CIIS" /div

Many of us have a complicated relationship with our body. Maybe you've been made to feel ashamed of your body or like it isn't good enough. Maybe your body is riddled with stress, pain, or the effects of trauma. Maybe you think of your body as an accessory to what you believe you really are--your mind. Maybe your experiences with racism, sexism, ableism, heterosexism, ageism, or sizeism have made you believe your body isn't the right kind of body. Whatever the reason, many of us don't feel at home in our bodies. But being disconnected from ourselves as bodies means being disconnected from truly living and from the interconnection that weaves us all together. Psychologist and award-winning researcher Hillary McBride explores the broken and unhealthy ideas we have inherited about our body. Embodiment is the way we are in the world, and our embodiment is heavily influenced by who we have been allowed to be. McBride shows that many of us feel disembodied due to colonization, racism, sexism, and patriarchy--destructive systems that rank certain bodies as less valuable, beautiful, or human than others. Embracing our embodiment can liberate us from these systems. As we come to understand the world around us and the stories we've been told, we see that our perspective of reality often limits how we see and experience ourselves, each other, and what we believe is Sacred. Instead of the body being a problem to overcome, our bodies can be the very place where we feel most alive, the seat of our spirituality and our wisdom. The Wisdom of Your Body offers a compassionate, healthy, and holistic perspective on embodied living. Weaving together illuminating research, stories from her work as a therapist, and deeply personal narratives of healing from a life-threatening eating disorder, a near-fatal car accident, and chronic pain, McBride invites us to reclaim the wisdom of the body and to experience the wholeness that has been there all along. End-of-chapter questions and practices are included.

What is it like to perceive a virtual object through the sensed presence of a virtual body? How do subject-object relations occur and can be actualized in virtual environments? Zeynep Akbal explores the impact of virtual reality (VR) technology on the subjective experience of the body and situates the results in context with existing theories in media sciences and the phenomenology of bodily perception. This study presents VR technology as a tool that can be used to more closely examine and study the fundamental intersections of the humanities and the natural sciences that explore the nature of perception.

This edited collection responds to Richard Kearney’s recent work on touch, excarnation, and embodiment, as well as his broader work in carnal hermeneutics, which sets the stage for his return to and retrieval of the senses of the lived body. Here, fourteen scholars engage the breadth and depth of Kearney’s work to illuminate our experience of the body. The chapters collected within take up a wide variety of subjects, from nature and non-human animals to our experience of the sacred and the demonic, and from art’s account of touching to the political implications of various types of embodiment. Featuring also an inspired new reflection from Kearney himself, in which he lays out his vision for “anacarnation,” this volume is an important statement about the centrality of touch and embodiment in our experience, and a reminder that, despite the excarnating tendencies of contemporary life, the lived body remains a touchstone for wisdom in our increasingly complicated and fragile world. Written for scholars and students interested in touch, embodiment, phenomenology, and hermeneutics, this diverse and challenging collection contributes to a growing field of scholarship that recognizes and attempts to correct the excarnating trends in philosophy and in culture at large.

Let’s be honest: most people are unhappy with at least some aspect of their physical appearance. Just think of all the money we spend each year trying to improve our looks! But if worrying about your appearance is getting in the way of living, maybe it’s time to start thinking about body image in a completely new way. Based in proven-effective acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), Living with Your Body and Other Things You Hate offers a unique approach to addressing your struggle with body image. In this book, you will not be told that your self-perceptions are wrong, that your thoughts are irrational, or that your feelings are misguided. Instead, you will learn to live with the reality that these often painful thoughts and beliefs about yourself will arise from time to time, and that what is really important is accepting these distressing thoughts without allowing them to dominate your life. You know what it’s like to constantly be checking the mirror, to avoid certain social situations where your body may be exposed, or to gaze longingly at a fashion model in a magazine and think, “Why can’t I be her?” But what you may not know is that people who struggle with negative body image are at an increased risk for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. Body image problems can even lead to major financial issues. By focusing on your appearance and little else, you are hurting yourself in more ways than one. If you are ready to find a purpose in life that is more important than the pain you feel about your appearance, this book provides a truthful, powerful resource.