Session Information
13 SES 06, Sexual Difference, Living in the Senses
Long Paper Session
Contribution
In this article we analyse the central role that the body plays in John MacMurray's account of learning to be human. As with Merleau-Ponty, MacMurray rejected mind-body dualisms and argued for the need to understand what it means to be a person. Through our analysis we highlight the key principles that characterize MacMurray's philosophy in relation to personhood and the body, namely: 1) all human knowledge and action should be for the sake of friendship and 2) human persons exist first and foremost in their bodies as 'knowing agents' rather than in their minds as 'knowing subjects'. We thereafter explain MacMurray's views on education and how it must support people to live in personal rather than functional relation with each other by attending more to bodily experience and education of the emotions. Accordingly, MacMurray considered that persons can either 'use' their bodily senses as mere instruments for functional purposes or they can 'live' in their bodily senses by learning to love (not ‘using’ but rather apprehending the real value of) other persons. In conclusion, we suggest that MacMurray’s philosophy can open up a different way of thinking about the educational value of physical activity. For MacMurry shared physical pursuits are especially educational when carried out for their own sake and when all persons’ present experience moments of bodily joy and togetherness and a better understanding of each other.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
MacMurray, J (2012). Learning to be Human, Oxford Review of Education, 38 (6), pp 661-674. Macmurray, J (1964). Teachers and pupils, The Educational Forum, 39(1), 17–24. MacMurray, J (1961). Reason and Emotion, (London, Faber and Faber). MacMurray, J (1960). Persons in Relation, (London, Faber and Faber). MacMurray, J (1956). The Self as Agent, (London, Faber and Faber).
Search the ECER Programme
- Search for keywords and phrases in "Text Search"
- Restrict in which part of the abstracts to search in "Where to search"
- Search for authors and in the respective field.
- For planning your conference attendance you may want to use the conference app, which will be issued some weeks before the conference
- If you are a session chair, best look up your chairing duties in the conference system (Conftool) or the app.