Announcement Calenda 1 358 462 extracts
The relationship with the human body has long been studied in the humanities and social sciences. In philosophy, a phenomenological approach presents the mind as inextricably linked to the flesh (we are our body). This is echoed in French law in the so-called "personalistic" analysis of the body, according to which the latter is confused with the former.
Societal and biomedical developments, however, have led to a commodification of the human living being, whether embodied in the emergence of bio-objects (Céline Lafontaine, Bio-objets. Les nouvelles frontières du vivant, Ed. du Seuil, 2021) or as a result of social behavior.
Modern medicine is now largely based on the use of human matter, with the body becoming a source of resources for others. Biotechnologies have led to the multiplication of elements of human origin that have been isolated, modified and artificially preserved in life to enable multiple technoscientific and medical uses through a process of bio-objectification.
The relationship with the body has also undergone profound change in Western society: now conceived as a material that can be modified to suit one's desires or desires, the human body can be used as a medium for artistic creations.
A shift is also taking place from therapeutic medicine to ameliorative medicine, revealing the penetration in our Western societies of the idea of human perfectibility, which is also particularly visible in the sporting field.
Following on from the seminar held in spring 2025, this second seminar will focus on interdisciplinarity, this time bringing together researchers in philosophy, law and the sciences and techniques of physical activity and sport to examine the growing commodification of the human body in our society.
