Is everything black and white? Can you always separate the good from bad? I do not think so. Obviously there are questions, which can be answered straight away as the answer could be measured or there are rules to follow or we know it due to our ethical considerations. However, there are questions which could lead us to different directions as there are neither good nor bad answers. Maybe there are more good or bad questions J
Dance is already a subjective field. You can love or hate the same choreography as our tastes are subjective. However, the dance technique is everything, but subjective as there are rules which need to be applied. I believe in our private life more non-positivist questions are coming up than positivist, but that is why life is so beautiful. We are free to make different decisions, or have different opinions and it does not mean we are good or bad, but it means we are different. Imagine if the rainbow would be only one colour, it would be boring… like the life would be boring if all of us would be the same or every question would have only one answer.
There are different believes about the mind, body and soul. Some believes in monism, some in dualism…. Even this question has different answers which does not explains less or more about the person, but his/her opinion. There are multiple factors which makes a dancer an expert in her/his field – all related to mind, body and soul. In my opinion the mind brings the body to the spirit. Without a harmony between these elements the dancer cannot rich her/his best potentials. As a dance teacher that is my duty to help this harmony to be born and/or to be developed to a better stage.
The roots of self-knowledge – connection of the mind and soul
Dualism was already present in the ancient Greek and Roman philosophy. Socrates did not find wiser person than himself, he realised he knew nothing and that made him the wisest man of all. ‘The knowledge starts, when you realise there are so much more to be discovered.’ The famous Socratic Method of teaching was not based on his books (as he did not have any), but it is based on questing people – sometimes with humiliating questions. ‘The Socratic method is still widely used to this day… By using the Socratic method, students are able to start thinking critically and using logic and reasoning to create their arguments, while also finding and patching up holes in their positions.’ – (Kleinman, 2013:17) Socrates was the teacher of Plato and the mentor of Aristotle who have carried on his dualism belief. By the way, his teaching method is still used today… for example in law schools, or even in our work based learning course.
Plato’s opinion about the body was negative. ‘In the words of Plato’s Athenian, “soul is utterly superior to body….what gives each one of us his being is nothing else but his soul, whereas the body is no more than a shadow which keeps us company” …however, Plato does relate body and soul through dance, holding that dance benefits the soul in a therapeutic way, producing mental calm through rocking motion and ritual.’ – (Fraleigh, 1996:7)
Aristotle differs from his teacher, Plato. Due to his biological studies he is closed to the nature and does not go so far as Plato in the negative concept of human body through his theory of ‘materialism’. ‘For Aristotle, art was a result of both the soul and hand of the artist and was seen as “patterned energy.” For him the soul was “not a precious spiritual essence, but a principal of life” ’ – (Fraleigh, 1996:257)
Plato and his Christian followers believed the body is separation from God and it leads the soul to destruction. The body needs to be disciplined and controlled in order to reach the perfection of God. ‘the baptized person must experience the death of selfish bodily motivation: ”We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin” (6:6)’ – (Finlan, 2008:114); The female body appeared to be particularly dangerous, sinful and deserves oppression. Although dancers most probably do not think in these religious terms, there is undoubtedly a strong tradition to make the body suffer or disregard the body’s needs especially in dancers’ lives – for example regular diet, rest and ignoring pain while practising to ensure keep the deadlines as the show goes on.
Famous clichés also talk about splits in the identity. “Your body as your instrument.” – It presumes the body and the soul can be separated. If we see it as this concept, the dancer allows the suffering and abusing of his/her body to serve his/hers role as a dancer; such as the human uses the body as an instrument for communication purposes.
‘”The body as instrument”… dehumanises the whole person to a thing to be designed, tempered, refined and sharpened to perform particular skills. It suggests an unfeeling precious thing to be handled with care and used only for a specific purpose… This concept reinforces the body-mind split so prevalent in Judeo-Christian culture… We are gradually moving towards a more holistic culture. Perhaps we should be moving towards holistic dance teaching as well.’ – (Greeves,1993:11)
The strong change in Christianity between the spiritual and physical aspects of self-knowledge came with Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274). He was following Aristotle through materialism but believed God uses the human body to interpret change in the world. The body was still a tool in his opinion but instead of being Plato’s tomb or a prison of soul, Thomas Aquinas’ body gained more value through its purposes.
Religion was determining part of everyone’s lives. Dancing was also existing in religions, such as Christian, Orphism, Hindu, Buddhism, Islam, etc. At Christian belief ‘dance was still acceptable because it was planted deep in the soil of the Judeo-Christian tradition.’ (Gagne 1984:43) Due to the Hebrew roots and the prevailing social and political influences of the Roman Empire Christians were dancing at carnivals, celebrations and worships. Christians shared the dualism belief – the body as the sin’s birthplace. John Chrysostom said that ‘where dancing is, there is the evil one’ (Gagne 1984:50). By the middle-ages dance was banned from all Christian services except the annual ceremony of Carnival.
‘Cogito ergo sum’ – ‘I think therefore I am’; a well-known statement of 17th century by Rene Descartes is at the centre of modern understanding of dualism. Dualism divides the mind and the body. These quite unlike substances – which could not exist in unity – work side by side. In this understanding the body is at the bottom of the pile in terms of human condition.
Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy – the book of Sir Isaac Newton – is considered as ‘the single most important work in the history of modern science.’ (Kendrick, 2010:113) Newton followed Descartes’ philosophy of human endeavour. ‘We are moving bodies…in everyday life, the difference between lifeless movement and lived movement is extremely meaningful…Descartes doubted whether he could make a difference between a man and a machine clothed in a coat and hat.’ (Parviainen 1998:45) From Descartes’s theory Darwin’s was born – the evolution. He believed human body was continuously adapting to its’ environment for the best chance of survival. It was the body on its own, which had the knowledge – placed outside the ‘mind’ – to restructure the human body: a thinking body
At the other hand, there are those who believes in ‘monism’ when the body and the mind is not separated, but one ‘thing’. The category of monist belief is very broad. There are two opposite opinions about monism. Some does not believe in the body entirely. In their opinion the material elements only exist in our mind by multiplex thoughts. At the opposite side, some believe everything is material.
The holistic view, when we see the body as the whole as our body, mind and soul relate to each other – furthermore, they depend on each other – makes the most sense to me. If we ignore one of the element’s sign to ourselves, the balance will get weaker and may be destroyed. To be happy, healthy and satisfied in our lives we need to pleasure both elements equally. However, there are different opinions as I have already said: there are neither good nor bad answers… like there are positivist or non-positivist researcher!
As we are all different I am curious on your views. What do you think?
Bibliography:
Greeves, T. 1993. The Difference between Trainig and Taming the Dancer’. In P. Brinson (ed.), Training Tomorrow’s Professional Dancers, London: Laban Centre
Miller, J. P. 2007 Holistic curriculum: second edition. Torronto, Buffalo, London: University of Toronto Press
Kleinman P. 2013. Philosophy 101 from Plato and Socrates to ethics and metaphysics, an essential primer on the history of thought. Avon, USA: Adams Media
Fraleigh, Horton, S. (ed.) 1996. Dance and the Lived Body. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press
Finlan, Stephen. 2008. The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition. Minnesota: Liturgical Press
Kendrick, M. G. 2010. The Heroic Ideal: Western Archetypes from the Greeks to the Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co Inc
Parvianen, J. 1998. Bodies moving and moved: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Dancing Subject and the Cognitive and ethical Values of Dance Art. Vammala: Tampere University Press
Suzy MAPP DTP 