Body consciousness : a philosophy of mindfulness and somaesthetics /

Shusterman (Florida Atlantic Univ.) here continues his development of a pragmatic somatic philosophy begun in Performing Live (2000) and Practicing Philosophy (1997). In each chapter, Shusterman provides a focused reading of a Continental or pragmatist philosopher who takes the body seriously: Michel Foucault, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Simone de Beauvoir, Ludwig Wittgenstein, William James, and John Dewey. According to Shusterman, each philosopher's theory falls short of providing an adequate account of bodily experience, and all fail to fully recognize the importance of bodily consciousness as a way to improve both mental and physical performance. Shusterman claims that thinking through the body (as in the practices of meditation, yoga, Feldenkrais, and the Alexander technique) enhances perception, thought, empathy, aesthetic appreciation, and the cultivation of good habits of action. In the final chapter on Dewey, Shusterman includes an interesting critique of F. M. Alexander's thought and an account of Alexander's influence on Dewey's notions of habit and mind/body unity. This book features basic and lucid readings of these philosophers, suitable for an undergraduate audience. Students of philosophy and students interested in kinesiology and bodywork techniques should find this work of interest. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty/researchers. J. L. Eagen CSU East Bay