Corporeality and Its Fates in History

Abstract

The question is: how to thematize the historicalness of the human body and corporeality. The first part of the article deals with the changing position of the body and corporeality as a part of Order The order is in this context defined broadly, referring both to socio-practical structures and cultural meaning structures. The approach may be charactenzed as a synthesis of social, cultural and conceptual history (partly inspired by Michel Foucault's conceptions of archeology & genealogy). The historicalness of the body and corporeality is structured in a setting where the body is related to the Other: spirit, soul, reason and self The historical change of these binary oppositions is related to the increasing instrumentalization of the body - considered from two aspects: one's own body and another's (own) body Further it is shown how these two aspects are combined in modern society: the body as a means of expression acquires a dominant role on the basis of corporeal equality and individuality.

In the latter part of the article an approach is formulated to overcome the paradox of nature-culture parallelism in the definitions of the human body and corporeality. A fundamental distinction is made between the physical body (corporeal being) and corporeality, the latter being interpreted (through a critical reading of Georges Bataille's conceptions) as a central area of transgression. The concept of transgression allows an interpretation of corporeality as a cultural dynamics oscillating between the 'normal' (order/ everyday/profane) and the 'hyper-normal' state (liminality/fête/sacred). Thus it is possible to conceptualize corporeality - and now especially the sensual existence of man - in its historicalness. Finally, a distinction is made in the two dimensions of corporeality - the expressive and the experience aspect- which explains the paradox of two opposite interpretations of the historical fates of corporeality in modern society. Along the increasing instru mentalization and shielding of the body also the 'sensitiveness' to bodily pleasures is increasing. But on the other hand there is a clear shift of emphasis from the expressive aspect to the experience aspect of corporeality.