This is philosophy bites, with me, David.
Edmonds, and me, Nigel Warburton.
If you enjoy philosophy bytes, please support us.
We're unfunded and all donations will be gratefully received.
For more details, go to www.philosophybytes.com.
We'Ve edited the following interview.
We've eliminated a few ums and balanced the sound levels.
That's what we always do, and I'm sure you'll agree that's a good thing.
But what about modifying bodies?
We all do that a bit, whether by getting a haircut, losing weight, working out of the gym, or having piercings or tattoos.
Some people even have cosmetic surgery to remove signs of aging or to achieve a shape that they want their bodies to be.
Claire Chambers wants to defend the idea of the more or less unmodified body.
She argues that we should resist pressures to alter our appearances.
Claire Chambers, welcome to philosophy bites.
Thank you.
It's nice to be here.
Our topic today is the unmodified body.
Just to get the parameters clear, if I cut my nails or if I put a stud through my tongue, I'm modifying my body.
Is that right?
So as that suggests, we do all kinds of different things to our bodies that modify them in ways that are more or less extreme.