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Published: Dec. 25, 2022, 9:23 p.m.

Your Body\n\n

Your body is god, your body is king.

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Why have there not been that many philosophers who have philosophized and praised the virtues of the body, our human body?

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Some theories:

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First, the superstition of this notion of the \u201cimmortal soul\u201c, that after you die, the cognizant mind soul of yours will continue into perpetuity.

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Second, the nonsensory of this new Silicon Valley notion that you could somehow one day, \u201cupload your consciousness to the cloud\u201c. The idea that somehow, your mind can exist without your body. It cannot.

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Third, notions of shame culture around the body, whether Asian, East Asian, Confucian, even American. Considering that we Americans descended from Quakers and Puritans, and also have these antiquated Victorian notions of shame in regards to the body, the body is a weird thing; we got it, but we shouldn\u2019t become too proud of it, and we should only maintain it to the minimum, in order to promote other virtues.

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Also, let us consider that America is a Christian protestant nation. According to Protestantism, which is essentially Catholicism 2.0, the body is a thing of shame.

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For example, the notion of the \u201cimmaculate conception\u201d of Jesus. The reason why this idea was promoted was that there was this idea that somehow sex is shameful. It isn\u2019t. The ancient Greeks and Romans deified birth, procreation. Back then, sex was simply a normal part of life, a necessary path to be getting offspring and children.

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I think what has changed in modern day times is notion of sex for the sake of sex, sex for the sake of pleasure, or pleasure for the sake of pleasure. Certainly pleasure is just a means to an end, not the end itself.

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For example, if sex did not feel good and did not promote pleasure, the human race would have died off a long time ago. Biologically speaking, we humans want to continue to procreate.

\n\nConsumerism?\n\n

It is my personal thought that most modern day consumerism is built around shame, fear, and capitalizing off the insecurities of people. For example, I don\u2019t think anybody out there is actually proud of their body, or deifies their body. Even Jesus said that your body is a temple.

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I think it is because in modern-day times, most people do not have a sense of philosophy. Many people in modern day society are not quite certain what they really want out of life, and instead, they fall into the same means of desiring to travel and see the world, eat good food, bed beautiful women, eat and drink exotic foods and drinks and alcoholic beverages, and promote pleasure, and purchase objects of desire, etc.

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I think it was Nietzsche who said that the Englishman only desired two things, which was fashion and comfort. It seems that the modern-day American only cares for comfort, pleasure, and fashion. Also novelty.

\n\nYour body as an instrument and a tool\n\n

In order to think, philosophize, make art, innovate, create and publish things, you need a body. Your body is the whole package, all of the things in between your toes and the top of your head. Your bones, your sinews, your blood, your muscles, your fat, your brains, the electricity running through your body, etc. Also all of the hormones.

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It seems that most people today desire to become more productive, in order to make more money, purchase more things, obtain more things, and \u201cbecome successful\u201c. Ironically enough, if you want to become more productive, spending more time energy and money and resources to build your body and strengthen and further your body might be the best strategy.

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For example, working out at least twice a day. Isn\u2019t this the ultimate luxury? To be able to go to the gym and lift <a href="https://