was actually a visual error that made him seem female. Distance or any other means of creating ambiguity leads us to differentiate between what we experience and what we know to be actually happening. If a differentiation has to take place between the crude sensory information and what we view as reality, than the truth or meaning within an object is not held within the sensory perception of it. “Well, have you ever apprehended them with any other bodily sense? By “them” I mean them all, including tallness or health or strength in themselves, the real nature of any given thing – what it actually is. Is it through the body that we get our truest view of them? Isn’t it true that in any inquiry you are likely to attain more nearly to knowledge of your object in proportion to the care and accuracy with which you have prepared yourself to understand that object in itself?” (2) Besides the processing of inaccurate information, the temptations and desires of the body are so strong and numerous that the philosopher “never gets an opportunity to think.” (3) The functions of the body that are being described as distractions and contradictions are in fact the fundamental processes of life. To view these as burdensome is to perceive the functions of life, those of physical necessity as well as joy and contentment, as an annoyance. A nagging that would be appreciated only if removed. Thus, putting the soul at the center of the definition of what we are, that which is seeking wisdom, in short the essence of humanity. Thus, if the body is only a distraction to thought, and intellectual investigation is the only way to achieve wisdom and knowledge of an object in itself, then the separation of the intellect from the burdens of the body is the only way to achieve absolute clarity of thought. “Is death nothing more or less than this, the separate condition of the body by itself when it is released fro...
