Philosophy Of The Human Body

The human body of a man consists of a head, neck, torso, two arms and two legs. It is the entire structure of his physical being.

 The biologically the body of a full grown adult consists of close to 100 trillion body cells. These cells are organised biologically to eventually form the whole body which include; the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, integumentary system, urinary system, lymphatic system, immune system, respiratory system, nervous system and reproductive system.

These cells in turn consist of 65–90% water . About 99% of the human body is made up of  six elements oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium. About 0.85% is composed of only five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. The remaining elements are which are found in traces, and example which is fluorine.

This scientific truth buttresses the fact that science goes “hand in hand” with faith. it may not explain faith for faith strives beyond science, but it can certainly never contradict faith. All of its said contradictions are mere limitations on the path of science which is a factor of knowledge, once more discoveries are made, you would come to a conclusion that science is unconsciously supporting faith.

 It may interest you to know that the scripture declares that man was formed from the dusts of the earth (Gen 2:7), the Infinite Creative Intelligence literally moulded  a man from a mixture of water and earth. All the elements that constitutes the composition of the human body are found in those two components : earth and water.

The man in the mirror

The man in the mirror is more than a reflection. He is the image that others relate with, identify with and even fall in and out of love with. But in actual fact, he is only a representation of the real man, not a complete representation of the attributes of the real man but a gateway to interact with the real man. The man in the mirror( the human body) is like an icon that leads you to the real program.

But it’s sad that most people don’t like what they see in the mirror. They feel their head is too short, their eyes are too green, their breast is too small,  their nose is too large,etc. Even those that appear to have every known asset complete and perfect are thrown into the eternal doldrums of inferiority complex by a little freckle, blemish, black spot or pimple. They are rendered ineffective by one little defect. This explains why multitudes throng the theatres, not for entertainment but surgical and cosmetic alterations.

There is the famous argument that “We choose our clothes, we exercise and diet in order to maintain a preferred shape. Cosmetic surgery is just another way of improving our looks and how we feel about ourselves”

Some may find it difficult to criticize this faultless logic; and yet there seems to me something disturbing about the idea that a human body is just a lump of stuff to be whittled into shape like a piece of wood or clay.

It was only in the 20th century that philosophers began to take the human body seriously as a topic for inquiry. Up until that time, the accepted view was that a person is a compound of a body and a mind or soul, a subject of consciousness who owns or occupies a body.

 I am not saying cosmetic surgery is wrong but, why improve on a look that is the only distinct representation of a unique personality. Why should you improve on someone that is the only copy of specie on this time ruled sphere? You are unique! The first and only of your kind! If your surgery doesn’t improve the person behind the body, it’s not necessary. It will be noted that after the surgery you did not change. You may alter every part of your body, redesign your facial and body features to look exactly like Tom cruise or Beyoncé Knowles but you are not either of them. The only person you can be in this world is YOU!

The reason most people throng for cosmetic surgery apart from medical reasons is as a result of low self-esteem. They base their judgment of themselves by the people around them and the prevailing trends. And if they are surrounded by folks that don’t appreciate them, they tend to adjust to “fit in” to their definition.

Before you go under that knife

What is beauty? It may interest you to know that beauty is defined in the English dictionary as : Pleasing and impressive qualities of something: the combination of qualities that make something pleasing and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste. It may amaze you as it has amazed me when I found out that beauty has not been defined by the English scholars that gave this definition.

Okay if they say it is something pleasing and impressive. The question is ,what is that pleasing and impressive thing? Why don’t they define what that is and spare us the construction of words. The truth of the matter is that beauty HAS NO DEFINITION.

It is defined by people, culture, values, religion; in fact anything and everything that can influence the thought pattern of man. You would agree with me that the way and pattern of dressing in the 60’s is considered ugly and awkward today. Today, it is fashionable for men to carry Mohawk hairstyle ,but in the early 19th century, one would have been considered to be mentally ill to have such.

It is impossible, today, to distinguish what we have inherited from our biology and the influence of culture. Judging from the history of art, women whom we would classify as obese were once regarded as ideals of female beauty.

Beauty is defined by you. It is defined by me. What you consider beautiful may be very appalling to another. In general, it is love that gives rise to beauty, not only does the lover see his or her beloved as 'beautiful'; you can see when someone is loved from the beauty of their facial expression or bodily movements.

So I beckon on you that read these words, love your self. You may want to change the way you look in order to make someone love you or accept you but there is no guarantee that person would continue to accept or love you after that change. So I urge you instead, change your environment. Change your company and if need be change the object or subject of your love. I am actually saying change your lover(this may not apply in all cases). Nobody has the right to make you feel inferior.

           Now if you say, how can I change what is not there and nobody regards me as beautiful? I would tell you what to do. Invoke the first law of love , which is LOVE THYSELF. Start appreciating who you are, what you are, how you look ; irrespective of what anybody thinks. Appreciate your nose, your eyes , your lips, your ears , your buttocks, etc. stand in front of the mirror and say, Those are the most sexy eyes in the world, That’s the most beautiful face in the universe. When you do this, you would trigger this law into action and begin to draw people that would say the same things to you. They must “must” tell you, you are beautiful.

Start appreciating yourself now! That loving the way you walk; see beauty from your own eyes. Don’t let society or friends define it for you. Beauty is a definition of you or better still You are the definition of beauty!

                                     St.Prince Xavier/2012/for the INC