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Corpus (Perspectives in Continental Philosophy)

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The primary essay in this work, Corpus, reminds me a little of that comedian who would smash melons, scattering seeds and fruit flesh everywhere. Under the hammer here, to be both pounded and enlarged, is Corpus, the body. The writing is ebullient and intelligent, the rhetoric takes flight. This expression plants all kinds of seeds and it is a relief to read about the importance, potential, and relations of bodies, so often shadowed by mounting emphasis on intellect and reason. The body has reasons of its own worthy of sustained attention. Corpus is far more an inspired and improvisational rift on a theme rather than an accumulation of fact or anecdote for the sake of an argument. The French text is included beside the English translation for the entire text of Corpus. This work will be a pleasure to reread and rethink. The eccentricity of its style may one day cause me to wonder what I was doing reading this, but its beauty is undeniable.

The other essays in this book, "On the Soul", "On the Extension of the Soul" address Aristotle, Descartes, and Spinoza and mind-body problems. The final essay, "The Intruder" is a fascinating exploration of Nancy's relation to his own body and soul and self after his heart transplant. This last piece jolts readers back to an emphasis on and appreciation of our own bodies.