The dualist paradigm, which has been criticized by sources in both the Catholic tradition and feminism for alienating persons from their bodies and allowing the treatment of persons as objects and property, has greatly influenced the development and practice of medicine. Particularly now, with the advent of modern molecular biology techniques as well as the potential for commercial profit-making from human biomaterials, the use of patient-derived tissue in biomedical research brings forth many questions for discussion. The notion of embodiment, what it means to have and to be a body, can be seen as a useful perspective from which to gain insight into these questions concerning person's bodies. Although stated in different terms and employing different methodologies, many sources from both the Catholic and feminist traditions of thought on embodiment converge on a holistic understanding of the person, one that counters pervasive dualistic tendencies. Within the Catholic tradition, a person is considered to be an integrated unity of body and soul; as Pope John Paul II has said, 'touch the body, touch the person.' Within the feminist perspective, the classic 'our bodies, ourselves,' is a reference to the fundamental understanding of the self as incorporating the body in an essential sense. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.28287 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Kruszewski, Zita. |
| Contributors | Keyserlingk, T. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Arts (Faculty of Religious Studies.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001642288, proquestno: MQ43899, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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