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IWantGod
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Yes, My body is also a biological machine.
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A
Aloysium
Guest
I thought I would offer some reflections on the idea of the body as a biological machine.
The fact is that outside of the person, there is no body save a dead one.
And, persons are anything but biological machines.
A body constitutes one’s existence in time and space.
It is the whereby we connect with the world and one another.
As persons, our body allows us to demonstrate our love.
A body is a hug, moments of intimacy with one’s spouse, a baby being born, the livedo creeping up the legs in the final days as lungs fill with fluid and kidneys shut down, hugs to be had never more, grace and beauty, deforming tumours, the thrill of chasing a ball down the field, strength and frailty.
Now, a surgeon focussed on the person rather than the organ, the body they are working on, will be distracted and this will likely result in problems during surgery.
On the other hand, maintaining that same attitude at the bedside encounter, should provide just as much reason for him/her to ensure that the malpractice insurance up to date.
We are not biological machines.
Our physicality is not machine-like because it cannot be but united with our spirit in life.
It is important for diverse reasons to understand the workings of our physical nature.
However, to bring together those ideas of the physical processes that govern our participation in the world, and conceive of a biological machine, is to engage in an illusion.
The body does not run itself. It does not engage in purposeful activity; the person does.
While the body is sustained, grows, and behaves principally on the energy supplied by the chemical reaction of glucose and oxygen, this activity does not happen out there but rather is what constitutes the physical reality of the person in the world.
And, it is not so much that the spirit moves the body, as it is that the person moves him/herself.
Persons are whole, moving, perceiving, thinking, being themselves.
The concept of machine, has to do with something that is a tool.
Our bodies are not tools to be used except in our capacity to love one another.
It is here and now, the temple of God, and should be treated as such.
The trouble with the view of man as machine, is that it dehumanizes.
We are easily reduced to cogs in some military-industrial or consumerist structure.
We will all die. This person will cease to be.
It has been revealed that the relationship with God, that which gives light to and the capacity to act in this life, as it has been shaped by what we have done with it, is maintained after death.
We will have open the possibility of knowing, along with all creation, He by whom we are given existence.
We are meant to be persons, participating in the physical universe and as such we hope to live eternally as a glorious body again, our wounded condition, healed.
No biomachines anywhere.
The fact is that outside of the person, there is no body save a dead one.
And, persons are anything but biological machines.
A body constitutes one’s existence in time and space.
It is the whereby we connect with the world and one another.
As persons, our body allows us to demonstrate our love.
A body is a hug, moments of intimacy with one’s spouse, a baby being born, the livedo creeping up the legs in the final days as lungs fill with fluid and kidneys shut down, hugs to be had never more, grace and beauty, deforming tumours, the thrill of chasing a ball down the field, strength and frailty.
Now, a surgeon focussed on the person rather than the organ, the body they are working on, will be distracted and this will likely result in problems during surgery.
On the other hand, maintaining that same attitude at the bedside encounter, should provide just as much reason for him/her to ensure that the malpractice insurance up to date.
We are not biological machines.
Our physicality is not machine-like because it cannot be but united with our spirit in life.
It is important for diverse reasons to understand the workings of our physical nature.
However, to bring together those ideas of the physical processes that govern our participation in the world, and conceive of a biological machine, is to engage in an illusion.
The body does not run itself. It does not engage in purposeful activity; the person does.
While the body is sustained, grows, and behaves principally on the energy supplied by the chemical reaction of glucose and oxygen, this activity does not happen out there but rather is what constitutes the physical reality of the person in the world.
And, it is not so much that the spirit moves the body, as it is that the person moves him/herself.
Persons are whole, moving, perceiving, thinking, being themselves.
The concept of machine, has to do with something that is a tool.
Our bodies are not tools to be used except in our capacity to love one another.
It is here and now, the temple of God, and should be treated as such.
The trouble with the view of man as machine, is that it dehumanizes.
We are easily reduced to cogs in some military-industrial or consumerist structure.
We will all die. This person will cease to be.
It has been revealed that the relationship with God, that which gives light to and the capacity to act in this life, as it has been shaped by what we have done with it, is maintained after death.
We will have open the possibility of knowing, along with all creation, He by whom we are given existence.
We are meant to be persons, participating in the physical universe and as such we hope to live eternally as a glorious body again, our wounded condition, healed.
No biomachines anywhere.
I
IWantGod
Guest
I see no need to say that we are not biomachines just because we are also persons. We have a biological system. We are biological organisms. Are bodies are made up of parts and have internal operations and yes we are also personal beings created by God.I thought I would offer some reflections on the idea of the body as a biological machine.
The fact is that outside of the person, there is no body save a dead one.
And, persons are anything but biological machines.
A body constitutes one’s existence in time and space.
It is the whereby we connect with the world and one another.
As persons, our body allows us to demonstrate our love.
A body is a hug, moments of intimacy with one’s spouse, a baby being born, the livedo creeping up the legs in the final days as lungs fill with fluid and kidneys shut down, hugs to be had never more, grace and beauty, deforming tumours, the thrill of chasing a ball down the field, strength and frailty.
Now, a surgeon focussed on the person rather than the organ, the body they are working on, will be distracted and this will likely result in problems during surgery.
On the other hand, maintaining that same attitude at the bedside encounter, should provide just as much reason for him/her to ensure that the malpractice insurance up to date.
We are not biological machines.
Our physicality is not machine-like because it cannot be but united with our spirit in life.
It is important for diverse reasons to understand the workings of our physical nature.
However, to bring together those ideas of the physical processes that govern our participation in the world, and conceive of a biological machine, is to engage in an illusion.
The body does not run itself. It does not engage in purposeful activity; the person does.
While the body is sustained, grows, and behaves principally on the energy supplied by the chemical reaction of glucose and oxygen, this activity does not happen out there but rather is what constitutes the physical reality of the person in the world.
And, it is not so much that the spirit moves the body, as it is that the person moves him/herself.
Persons are whole, moving, perceiving, thinking, being themselves.
The concept of machine, has to do with something that is a tool.
Our bodies are not tools to be used except in our capacity to love one another.
It is here and now, the temple of God, and should be treated as such.
The trouble with the view of man as machine, is that it dehumanizes.
We are easily reduced to cogs in some military-industrial or consumerist structure.
We will all die. This person will cease to be.
It has been revealed that the relationship with God, that which gives light to and the capacity to act in this life, as it has been shaped by what we have done with it, is maintained after death.
We will have open the possibility of knowing, along with all creation, He by whom we are given existence.
We are meant to be persons, participating in the physical universe and as such we hope to live eternally as a glorious body again, our wounded condition, healed.
No biomachines anywhere.
A
Aloysium
Guest
I don’t like the analogy that describes the human body as a machine.I see no need to say that we are not biomachines just because we are also persons. We have a biological system. We are biological organisms. Are bodies are made up of parts and have internal operations and yes we are also personal beings created by God.
Not the least of the reasons is that it is taken literally by too many people.
Another problem with it has to do with the dichotomy that the image creates and mental contortions that have to be undertaken to explain how the physical and mental are related.
This is not to disagree that the components that make up our physical reality are the same ones that compose the rest of the universe.
We are one with the rest of matter in terms of the interaction of cells, molecules, and their subatomic substrates.
The separation is in our being persons who exist in relation to what is other.
I would say that alive, we are persons, and dead, we leave behind broken machines, perhaps.
Again, our bodies are not tools. Also, they operate themselves within the universe, being the material reality of the person who perceives, thinks, feels, acts and loves. These are contrary to what I understand to be the definition of a machine, which is ultimately an extension of our senses and physical capacities.
I
IWantGod
Guest
Okay.I don’t like the analogy that describes the human body as a machine.
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