Earthbodies

Rediscovering Our Planetary Senses

Glen A. Mazis

• Publisher: SUNY Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9780791454183, 9780791454176
• eBook ISBN: 9780791488386
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Mind & Body in Philosophy

Shows how our cultural misconceptions about the body distort its capacities and lead to personal and social ills.

Earthbodies describes how our bodies are open circuits to a sensual magic and planetary care that when closed off leads to disastrous detours, such as illness, "dis-ease, " and toxicity. In doing so, it answers a variety of questions. Can we understand our bodies without understanding how they are part of a rhythmic flow with the rest of the planet? How can we decide how to treat the animals around us when we fail to realize the nature of our kinship with them? Without hearing the voices of the earth, rocks, and ocean waves, how can we dialogue with the planet or understand ourselves? Why are we so fascinated with film versions of nightmarish ghouls and vampires? How can celebrities impact more on our lives than our own families? What kind of human connection can we expect from the Internet? How is it that some of our adolescent boys shoot down their schoolmates? Despite our apparent cynicism, is our culture overly sentimental? What kind of ethics would help us find a moral way to achieve an inclusive global community and cherish the environment?

Table of contents

• Earthbodies
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1. The Earthly Dance of Interconnection
• 2. Earthbody Dimensions
• 3. Discordant Contemporary Rhythms
• 4. Cyberspace: Rootedness versus Being in Orbit
• 5. Planetary Meaningfulness
• 6. Rejoining the Planet
• Afterword: A Poem
• Notes
• Index