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Why Physical Culture?
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4 responses to “Why Physical Culture?”
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Physical culture certainly paid off for this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8WAlsXF7W0 -
Bill, one might argue that control over one’s body* is not only morally good but also obligatory. Would you say that mastery of the body (to some sufficient degree**) is a duty?
* I refer to control over the body in the respects it can be controlled. One cannot control some bodily processes such as digestion and circulation, but one can control whether it sits on the couch or pumps iron, whether it eats a carrot or a cookie.
** I don’t want to say that we are morally obligated to master the body in every way it can be mastered, say, by learning to play the piano and becoming an elite table tennis player and bench-pressing 400 lbs., etc. But it seems there is a basic level of mastery which we are obligated to develop and maintain. -
Hi Elliot,
Maintaining one’s physical health is a moral obligation which involves refraining from some things and doing others such as engaging in physical exercise on a regular basis. I’d say a minimum of one hour per diem. So yes a certain amount of bodily mastery is morally obligatory for one’s own benefit and that of others.
I think of physical training as a table with four legs: aerobic, anaerobic, stretching, and hand-eye coordination.
Deep breathing is another good exercise. I have been reading *Breath* by James Nestor. https://www.amazon.com/Breath-New-Science-Lost-Art/dp/0593420217/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= -
Bill, the book looks interesting. I’ll check it out.
I like the analogy. I lift weights, walk, and stretch regularly. I probably should run or bike more. After many years of playing basketball and baseball, I find that my hand-eye coordination is still pretty good, though I probably should do more to keep it sharp.
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