The Body Unbound

Philosophical Perspectives on Politics, Embodiment and Religion

Edited By: Marius Timmann Mjaaland, Ola Sigurdson, Sigríður Þorgeirsdóttir

£39.99

A philosophical inquiry into politics, embodiment, and religion confronts notorious contemporary issues, from suicide bombing to biopolitics. Contributors uncover resources to unbind a body which has been doubly bound by history, law, and culture.

A philosophical inquiry into politics, embodiment and religion takes us straight to some of contemporary culture’s most notorious issues: suicide bombing, the veiled and the…

A philosophical inquiry into politics, embodiment and religion takes us straight to some of contemporary culture’s most notorious issues: suicide bombing, the veiled and the exposed body, and present-day biopolitics. Interpretations of the body have always been contested, both in the history of philosophy and in the history of religions. On the one hand, the body has been perceived as a prison, binding the soul to transience, darkness, and confusion. Yet on the other hand, it has itself been controlled and disciplined by reason and will, law and culture.

The ten contributors to The Body Unbound suggest that inquiries into the nature of human embodiment must take into account both context and history in order to scrutinize them and to uncover resources for unbinding a body which has been doubly bound.

Marius Timmann Mjaaland is President of the Nordic Society for Philosophy of Religion and Researcher in Philosophy and Theology at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Ola Sigurdson is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, Head of the multidisciplinary research program “Religion, Culture, and Health”, and the author of more than fifteen books in philosophy and theology.

Sigridur Thorgeirsdottir is Professor of Philosophy and Chairperson of the Board of the EDDA Center of Excellence at the University of Iceland.