Body

Across different philosophical traditions, various terms are used to refer to the body, reflecting diverse conceptions of its nature and its relationship to the mind, soul, or self.

Western Philosophical Traditions In the Western tradition, the body has often been contrasted with the non-physical aspects of a person (mind, soul, spirit, reason) and has a number of specific terms:

Soma: Ancient Greek for “body”. In Platonic thought, it was often seen as a temporary dwelling or a “prison” for the immortal soul, a source of desires and illusions that distract from the pursuit of true knowledge.
Hyle: Greek term, often translated as “matter”. For Aristotle, the body is the matter to the soul’s form, the material part of a living being.
Corpus: Latin for “body” (related to the English “corpse”). Descartes and other early modern philosophers used this, especially in discussions about the body as a physical, extended substance.
Res extensa: Latin for “extended thing” or “extended substance”. René Descartes famously used this term to describe physical bodies, which operate according to mechanical laws and are distinct from the non-physical res cogitans (“thinking thing” or mind).
Leib: In phenomenology (a 20th-century movement), the German term Leib refers to the lived body as it is subjectively experienced, in contrast to Körper.
Körper: The German term for the physical body as an object among other objects, viewed in mechanical or functional terms, especially in scientific or third-person perspectives.
The “Absent Body”: A term used in some critical philosophy, especially phenomenology and feminism, to describe how the body has often been ignored or devalued in much of the history of Western thought in favor of the mind or soul.

Eastern Philosophical Traditions (Examples from Indian Philosophy) Indian philosophical traditions also use several distinct terms for the body, often viewing it as part of a complex system of existence:

Sharira (शरीर): A common Sanskrit term for the body, derived from the root “shri,” meaning to waste away or decay, highlighting its perishable nature. It can refer to:
- Sthula sharira: The gross or physical body.
- Sukshma sharira: The subtle body.
- Karana sharira: The causal body.
Deha (देह): Another Sanskrit term for the body, often linked to the idea of “growth” or “form”.
Kaya (काय): A Sanskrit and Pali term often used in Buddhism and Hinduism, referring to the physical body or the collection/group (which is the literal meaning) of physical components.
Rupa (रूप): In Buddhist philosophy, rupa generally refers to “form” or “materiality” and is the first of the five skandhas (aggregates) that constitute a person, representing the physical aspect of existence.

These terms highlight different philosophical nuances, from the Western focus on substance dualism to the Eastern understanding of the body as an ephemeral or composite entity in a cycle of existence.

AI responses may include mistakes.

[1] https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/the-absent-body-and-beyond

[2] https://genius.com/Dale-martin-the-corinthian-body-chap-1-the-body-in-greco-roman-culture-annotated

[3] youtube/v=9CWU1V4yJHc

[4] https://spu.edu/depts/philosophy/documents/soulbody5-14-16.pdf

[5] wikipedia/en/Non-physical_entity