Attunement Through the Body

By Shigenori Nagatomo

Subjects: Asian Religion And Philosophy
Series: SUNY series, The Body in Culture, History, and Religion
Paperback : 9780791412329, 334 pages, August 1992
Hardcover : 9780791412312, 334 pages, August 1992

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

PART 1: TWO CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE CONCEPTS OF THE BODY: ICHIKAWA HIROSHI AND YUASA YASUO

1. Ichikawa's View of the Body

 

Introduction
The Subject-Body
The Body-Space
The Object-Body

 

2. Ichikawa's Concept of the Body Qua Structure

 

Structure as Functioning
The Orientational Structure
The Intentional Structure
Mineness of the Body
Concluding Remarks

 

3. Yuasa's Body Scheme

 

Introduction
Yuasa's Body-Scheme
The External Sensory-Motor Circuit
The Circuit of Coenesthesis
The Emotion-Instinct Circuit
The Summary of the Three Circuits
The Circuit of Unconcious Quasi-Body
Concluding Remarks

 

PART 2: A MEDIEVAL JAPANESE CONCEPT OF THE BODY: DOGEN KIGEN

4. Buddhism and Dogen's Concept of the Body

 

Introduction
Traditional Buddhist Concept of the Body
Human Body: The Basis For All That Appears
Dogen's Concept of Generation-Extinction
Generation-Extinction of an "I"
Conditions for Transition from "I" to "Who"

 

5. Dogen and the Body in Meditation

 

Introduction
Preparation
Attitude
The Goal of "Just Sitting"
An Analysis of "Just Sitting"
Samadhic Awareness
Oneness of the Body-Mind
Zen's Theory and Practice

 

6. Dogen and the Body in Transformation

 

Introduction
Transformation of Synthetic Function
Transformation of Affectivity
Felt Inter-Resonance
The Somatic Act

 

7. Dogen and the Body in Action

 

Introduction
Dogen's Identification of Mind with Objects
A True Human Body
Concluding Remarks

 

PART 3: A THEORY OF ATTUNEMENT

8. Preliminaries and a Theory of Attunement

 

Introduction
Personal Body: A Contingent Being
Engagement: Fundamental Modality of the Personal Body
Engagement as the Body's Attunement

 

9. A Sketch of a General Theory of Attunement

 

The Formal Conditions of Attunement
The Experimental Momentum of Attunement
The Somatic Field
Affectivity: Feeling-Judgement
Sedimentation

 

10. A Stratification of Engagement

 

Introduction
Tensionality
De-Tensionality
Non-Tensionality
Concluding Remarks

 

Notes

Glossary for Japanese Terms

Bibliography

Index

Description

Preparatory to restoring humaneness,Attunement Through the Body offers an innovative, philosophical model for overcoming mind-body dualism and its negative consequences through a systematic elucidation of the concept and the phenomenon of attunement. It invites readers to re-evaluate an undue emphasis placed on the cognitive, intellectual knowledge in the West.

The book examines the concept of the lived body and then articulates the transformative dimension of our everyday mode of living our bodies vis-a-vis Yuasa Yasuo's concept of body-scheme, demonstrating that the unity disclosed can be brought to a higher degree. The book further describes the transformative dimension of our bodies in theoretical and practical aspects through the concept of the body emerging in the course of meditational self-cultivation that was practiced by Dogen Kigen, a medieval Japanese Zen master.

It then develops an original philosophical theory that differs from various Western theories such as Idealism, Empiricism, and Materialism. This theory articulates modes of attunement reflecting degrees of somatic knowledge. The theory implies a lifestyle appropriate for the coming century.

Shigenori Nagatomo is Assistant Professor at Temple University. He is co-author of Science and Comparative Philosophy, and co-translator of The Body: Toward an Eastern Mind-Body Theory by Yuasa Yasuo, published by SUNY Press, and Toward Superconsciousness: Meditational Theory and Practice.

Reviews

"This book raises a completely new perspective on the relationship between consciousness, experience and the human body. It makes a compelling account of how our experience is carnate and then explores the rich philosophical implications of this insight. " Howard Eilberg-Schwartz, Stanford University

"The book deals with a highly original thesis in an innovative and insightful way. It is well written, soundly argued, and clearly presented. The author shows a good ability to illustrate abstract philosophical ideas with concrete, specific examples, and to handle themes from Japanese thought and Western phenomenology. " — Steven Heine, LaSalle University