Animalizing the Slave: the Truth of Fiction

2000 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 110-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Bradley

In his discussion of natural slavery in the first book of thePolitics(1254a17–1254b39), Aristotle notoriously assimilates human slaves to non-human animals. Natural slaves, Aristotle maintains (1254b16–20), are those who differ from others in the way that the body differs from the soul, or in the way that an animal differs from a human being; and into this category fall ‘all whose function is bodily service, and who produce their best when they supply such service’. The point is made more explicit in the argument (1254b20–4) that the capacity to be owned as property and the inability fully to participate in reason are defining characteristics of the natural slave: ‘Other animals do not apprehend reason but obey their instincts. Even so there is little divergence in the way they are used; both of them (slaves and tame animals) provide bodily assistance in satisfying essential needs’ (1254b24–6). Slaves and animals are not actually equated in Aristotle's views, but the inclination of the slave-owner in classical antiquity, or at least a representative of the slave-owning classes, to associate the slave with the animal is made evident enough. It appears again in Aristotle's later statement (1256b22–6) that the slave was as appropriate a target of hunting as the wild animal.

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ines Razec ◽  

We are currently witnessing a process of redefinition of the social structures that we are part of, through the new technologies, which are gradually entering all sectors of our lives, influencing the way we think, live, and relate to others. Since man is essentially a “political animal”, designed to evolve within a community, what impact will the digitalization era have on his behavior, especially when the physical limits imposed by the body are progressively disappearing? The objective of this study is to explore some of the subtle, but sure transformations of human behavior in the technological era, with a particular emphasis on the process of communication, personal feelings, and identity. In a more connected world than ever, where absolutely everything can be quantified, physical reality is in danger of being replaced by the virtual one. In this dynamic, the body could gradually become the only real impediment on the way to progress. Engaged in this alert race, we risk being dehumanized, in an attempt to be as similar as possible to the machines, which, undisturbed by the feelings, experiences, and behavioral predispositions specific to the human being, operate more accurately and are more effective. History shows that man essentially remains the same, with each age illustrating another facet of him. This is why, a thorough education from an early age is needed both in terms of the consequences of digitization and the means to cope with it, thus preventing us from distorting our essence.


Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 637
Author(s):  
Peter-Ben Smit

The manner in which humans and the divine are brought into communion with each other, a key aspect of many religious traditions, is frequently, if not always, material (or sacramental) in character. Meals and food play an important role in this; such meals can include the consumption of the deity (theophagy), as well as the consumption of the human being by the deity. This paper takes its cue from the discussion of constructions of divine–human communion and explores this subject in the letters of Ignatius of Antioch (early second century CE). It shows how in the literary heritage of this bishop, the body as the physical site of martyrdom is of key importance, in particular due to its consumption in the Roman arena. This martyrdom is the way in which Ignatius hopes to enter into perfect communion with the divine. The body thus becomes, in its annihilation, the instrument through which divine–human communion is established. As this all relates to a case of martyrdom, Ignatius’ ideas about the body are also subversive in character: the punishment of his body is, through his theological imagination, transformed into a means of achieving Ignatius’ goal in life: attaining to God.


Author(s):  
Chakravarthi Ram-Prasad

This chapter follows the process by which a highly detailed account of the human being as bodily being emerges through a series of contemplative practices described in the fifth century by Buddhaghosa in The Path of Purification, a Theravada Buddhist manual. In the first three practices studied, meditation practices are described that disrupt intuitions about the stability of subject and objects, intuitions held to lead to entanglement in suffering. The monk seeking disentanglement comes to be attentive of the way that an apparent sense of isolation of human from environment and of separation of subject from material body is dissolved. The fourth practice addresses the constitution of phenomenology, by analysis of experience through the abhidhamma categories taught by the Buddha. What results is a creative destabilization of any fixed tripartite ontology of subject–body–world, leaving a methodologically sustained practice of treating the human as a phenomenologically dynamic system of analytic categories.


2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine Jenness

This paper explores the way American intellectuals depicted Sigmund Freud during the peak of popularity and prestige of psychoanalysis in the US, roughly the decade and a half following World War II. These intellectuals insisted upon the unassailability of Freud's mind and personality. He was depicted as unsusceptible to any external force or influence, a trait which was thought to account for Freud's admirable comportment as a scientist, colleague and human being. This post-war image of Freud was shaped in part by the Cold War anxiety that modern individuality was imperilled by totalitarian forces, which could only be resisted by the most rugged of selves. It was also shaped by the unique situation of the intellectuals themselves, who were eager to position themselves, like the Freud they imagined, as steadfastly independent and critical thinkers who would, through the very clarity of their thought, lead America to a more robust democracy.


GIS Business ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-206
Author(s):  
SAJITHA M

Food is one of the main requirements of human being. It is flattering for the preservation of wellbeing and nourishment of the body.  The food of a society exposes its custom, prosperity, status, habits as well as it help to develop a culture. Food is one of the most important social indicators of a society. History of food carries a dynamic character in the socio- economic, political, and cultural realm of a society. The food is one of the obligatory components in our daily life. It occupied an obvious atmosphere for the augmentation of healthy life and anticipation against the diseases.  The food also shows a significant character in establishing cultural distinctiveness, and it reflects who we are. Food also reflected as the symbol of individuality, generosity, social status and religious believes etc in a civilized society. Food is not a discriminating aspect. It is the part of a culture, habits, addiction, and identity of a civilization.Food plays a symbolic role in the social activities the world over. It’s a universal sign of hospitality.[1]


Author(s):  
Manoj Kumar ◽  
Amareshappa . ◽  
Anjali Bharadwaj ◽  
Shailaja S. V.

Wound healing has been the burning problem in a surgical practice because of a remarkable increase in the number of traumatic cases. A wound causes a number of changes in the body that can affect the healing process, including changes in energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamin and mineral metabolism. Various Ayurveda literatures, particularly, Sushruta Samhita, which is said to be an ancient textbook of surgery in Ayurveda, has mentioned about the diet for the person suffering from the wound, and the author said that diet plays a very important role in the wound healing process. Sushruta - The father of surgery has scientifically classified it in a systemic manner, whose wealth of clinical material and the principles of management are valid even today. Shalya Tantra (surgical branch in Ayurveda Science) is one of the important branch of Ayurveda, in which surgical and para-surgical techniques has described for management of various diseases. Vrana is the most important and widely described chapter of Shalya Tantra. Vrana (wound) is one of them, which have been managed by human being from starting of civilization. Under the circumstances, the first thing which the men came across was the injury from different sources which caused him the Vrana. Vrana is seen as debilitating and scaring disorder, usually seen affecting the human being at any age. Well balanced nutrition plays an essential role in the wound healing.


Author(s):  
David Konstan

This chapter examines the tension in classical thought between reciprocity and altruism as the two fundamental grounds of interpersonal relations within the city and, to a lesser extent, between citizens and foreigners. It summarizes the chapters that follow, and examines in particular the ideas of altruism and egoism and defends their application to ancient ethics. Various attempts to reconcile the two, especially in respect to Aristotle’s conception of virtue as other-regarding, are considered, and with the relationship to modern concepts of “egoism” and “altruism” is explored. The introduction concludes by noting that one of the premises of the book is that, in classical antiquity, love was deemed to play a larger role in the way people accounted for motivation in a number of domains, including friendship, loyalty, gratitude, grief, and civic harmony.


Human Studies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Slatman

AbstractThis paper aims to mobilize the way we think and write about fat bodies while drawing on Jean-Luc Nancy’s philosophy of the body. I introduce Nancy’s approach to the body as an addition to contemporary new materialism. His philosophy, so I argue, offers a form of materialism that allows for a phenomenological exploration of the body. As such, it can help us to understand the lived experiences of fat embodiment. Additionally, Nancy’s idea of the body in terms of a “corpus”—a collection of pieces without a unity—together with his idea of corpus-writing—fragmentary writing, without head and tail—can help us to mobilize fixed meanings of fat. To apply Nancy’s conceptual frame to a concrete manifestation of fat embodiment, I provide a reading of Roxane Gay’s memoir Hunger (2017). In my analysis, I identify how the materiality of fat engenders the meaning of embodiment, and how it shapes how a fat body can and cannot be a body. Moreover, I propose that Gay’s writing style—hesitating and circling – involves an example of corpus-writing. The corpus of corpulence that Gay has created gives voice to the precariousness of a fat body's materialization.


Author(s):  
Ying San, Lim ◽  
Phing Cai ◽  
Andy Hong ◽  
Tuan Hock, Ng ◽  
Ying Zhee, Lim

The cosmetics and toiletry industry has growing up very fast. In 2016, the total global revenue cosmetics industry amounted to USD$444 billion. According to Lee, Goh, & Noor ( 2019), the skincare products dominated the cosmetics and toiletry market with a market value of approximately USD$ 120 billion. Between 2012 and 2019, the global skincare market expanded by 41.8 percent, and by 2025, it is expected to be worth $189 billion (Ledesma, 2020). The skin is the largest organ in the body, hence, many people will find ways to protect it, one of the way people are using to protect the skin is to apply any supplement on skin to keep the good condition of the skin. However, according to Cunningham (2014), the used of chemical items in the cosmetic skin care industry is extremely unregulated. For example, Parabens that cause breast cancer are found in cosmetics. The chemical used in the skin care products had rise the attention of the users to start to pay attention on the ingredient of the skin care products. One of the way people are using in order to avoid the harmful chemical in skin care products is to to choose skin care with natural ingredient (Espitia, 2020), this happend especially among the younger consumers (Boon et al., 2020; Hsu et al.,2017). The green skincare industry is growing rapidly. Green skin care, according to previous studies (Fauzi & Hashim, 2015; Hsu et al., 2017), is any skin care products which can preserve or enhance the natural environment by conserving energy or resources and decreasing or eliminating the usage of harmful agents, pollution, and waste. Studies showed there is an increasing in the consumption of green skincare products and toiletries by 45%, from a peak of RM 1.6 billion (in 1998) to RM 2.2 billion (in 2010), with sales estimated to exceed $1.1 billion in 2010 among young people (Boon et al., 2020). Keywords: Green Skin Care, Generation Z, Theory Of Planned Behaviour


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