Embodied Souls, Ensouled Bodies: An Exercise in Christological Anthropology and Its Significance for the Mind/Body Debate

(Paperback, NIPPOD)

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The book explores the relationship between Christology and theological anthropology through the lens provided by the theology of Karl Barth and the mind/body discussion in contemporary philosophy of mind. It thus comprises two major sections. The first develops an understanding of Karl Barth's theological anthropology focusing on three major facets: (1) the centrality of Jesus Christ for any real understanding of human persons; (2) the resources that such a christologically determined view of human nature has for engaging in interdisciplinary discourse; and (3) the ontological implications of this approach for understanding the mind/body relationship. The second part draws on this theological foundation to consider the implications that Christological anthropology has for analyzing and assessing several prominent ways of explaining the mind/body relationship. Specifically, it interacts with two broad categories of theories: 'nonreductive' forms of physicalism and 'holistic' forms of dualism. After providing a basic summary of each, the book applies the insights gained from Barth's anthropology to ascertain the extent to which the two approaches may be considered christologically adequate.

Reviews

This is a very competent, well-constructed work which offers an extended engagement with the theological anthropology of Karl Barth, as set out in Church Dogmatics III and a wide selection of contemporary literature on the relation between the mind and the body. In clarity and tightness of argument, thoroughness, conceptual skill and theological sensitivity, it is a superior book which takes debate about Barth's anthropology in a significant fresh direction.' John Webster, University of Aberdeen, UK.
Mention -Book News, February 2009
"An excellent entryway into philosophical debates regarding mind and body for the uninitiated...Cortez has done a great service." -Michael Allen, Themelios

Author Bio

Marc Cortez (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is Assistant Professor of Theology at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, USA.