The body is the centre of your experience of ‘all your be‘- ing and ‘all your be‘- coming. The human body is not an amorphous blob; it has structure, developed over millennia.



Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, there stands a mighty ruler, an unknown sage-whose name is self. In your body he dwells; he is your body. There is more reason in your body than in your best wisdom. And who knows why your body needs precisely your best wisdom? (Chapter On the Despisers of the Body) – Nietzsche



What is the a significance to the structure/shape of the human body?

What secrets lie behind the build of man?

[Link: Fantastic exposition on despisers of ‘the body’ by Nietzsche.]

In investigating man’s tendency to religious activities; I have decided to first attend to man’s physical being and the commonality of all humans.

Planar investigations of the human body. Comparing the front and back.

Our body can be roughly split into a plane. In the front, we can manipulate the world easily and receive information. We focus on the things in front of us.

The back receives little sensory information from the world, and is somewhat quite protected compared to the front. [Walking backwards] – a very difficult task, but possible.

To be able to perceive something is to be able to focus on it; that is, in order to fully perceive something you must filter out all other things.

The very act of existing positions you to face a limited/ given direction. To gain input/information/knowledge from a given direction.

Generally in the most basic sense you point your body to look at (face) things that are interesting, nice, beautiful, good or pleasant.

And turn away from things that are dull, nasty, ugly, bad or unpleasant.

We also copy and mimic the bodies of those around us, far more than we’ like to truly accept… link [elevator prank].





1 – The focus orientation of the body

The body has needs (safety, food, water); and so, on the most basic level, you can categorise things as either stuff to go towards or stuff to move away from.

Things to ‘throw’ yourself at. Obviously, this is not an actual ‘physical throwing of yourself’ but a metaphorical one:

The things you throw yourself at must satisfy the following needs:

The body – physical needs (safety, food, water) – otherwise you end up dis-integrating, lol. “Soul” – [of course there are other needs, but purpose, entertainment, joy, but these aren’t needs for the ‘body’, more needs for the soul] Growth – keeping up with the ever evolving demands of the changing world.

From this, words can then be used to classify/group and order things along an “arrow”.

In other words, pointing towards things that benefit and away from things that hinder.

From a perspective, a good and bad.

A way up and a way down.

A way to order.

2 – The throwing of the Self at an aim.

Man would naturally wish to strive towards things that they find to be the good and meaningful things. Most people would like to maximise the good, meaning and significance of their experience.

This gives rise to questions such as:

Where can that be found?

Where do such things/activities lie?

How to go about doing that in a chaotic and unpredictable future/life?

What about how we treat others?

Link [What it means to sin]

3 – The journey to arrive at goals and destinations

The paths to your goal might be obstructed, and so, you might not be able to directly achieve your goal, and have to reach it by other means.

It can also continually change and shift as you journey/mission to achieve your desire. Once you do reach your goal, your direction/attention shifts to your next goal.

Goals might be self-selected or come just from your physical being. You are not hungry and then you are; you are not thirsty, and then you are.

This is not a set/fixed path. It is not just one aim; the aims are not the same thing for everyone.

It is this imbalance in the body (and the need to satisfy the changing needs) that leads to the problem of “the orientation of man”.

F.

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