Citizenship, Mind, and Body: A Philosophical Analysis
Citizenship: Rights and Duties
Citizenship is not only a legal condition but also a normative ideal, where citizens are governed and fully participate in political processes. In contrast, under military dictatorships, people are subjects. Aristotle viewed citizenship primarily in terms of duties, where citizens were obliged to perform public services. In the modern world, citizenship is a matter of rights: citizens have the right to participate in public life, though not to place private interests ahead of political commitment. In a democratic society, no one is a subject, but a citizen. This is the ideal in many countries today. The concept of citizen gained its current meaning after the French Revolution. The subjects of the Old Regime lacked legal personality and did not interfere in political affairs. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen marked the first time in history that all members of a political society were considered citizens. This condition is achieved when the legal and political equality of all people is recognized. A sense of civic duty begins in the local community and eventually develops into a sense of belonging to a nation-state.
Multiculturalism and Integration
Citizens now live in societies with people from different countries, languages, cultures, and religions. This diversity should not prevent the integration of all into a state that represents and defends everyone without discrimination. Those who come from different cultures should not impose their home communities’ characteristics on the public sphere of their new country. It is vital that citizens of the host country respect these unique features, as long as they do not conflict with human rights. This is the essence of multiculturalism in today’s societies, although unchecked multiculturalism can lead to social disintegration. It is important to uphold the ideal of secularism, where the field of politics is common to all, with common law for everyone.
The Concept of Mind
The concept of mind gives us continuity and identity as a people. It is different from our body but closely related to it. The mind can be a substantial reality, that is, more than just physical. It can also be understood as a set of phenomena where nothing remains from a material point of view. In this sense, the mind has several features:
- Intentionality: Our memories, beliefs, and desires refer to something outside themselves.
- Intimacy: Mental phenomena are accessible to the subject but inaccessible to others.
- Awareness: Awareness of mental phenomena is becoming aware of our own existence.
The mind can be seen as a limit to the human when it is not dominant, but rather directs involuntarily. Psychoanalysis, founded by Sigmund Freud, proposes a new theory on mental life. For Freud, unconscious phenomena are the condition of our mental life. According to psychoanalysis, the mind is structured as follows:
- The Id: The unconscious part of the mind where instincts and impulses reside. It is the most primitive part of the psyche and never consciously manifests because its content is too much for the individual.
- The Ego: The conscious part that mediates between the id and external reality. It attempts to satisfy the id through defense mechanisms. The ego tends to seek pleasure and avoid pain.
- The Superego: The moral norms internalized in childhood that serve as the moral conscience.
The Concept of Body
The body is what is made up of sensitive materials. Its features include:
- Material: Composed of physical particles and therefore divisible.
- Extensive: Occupies space.
- Temporal: Exists over time.
- Alterable and Perishable: Subject to deterioration and destruction.
Mind-Body Dualism and Monism
There are two major positions regarding the mind-body relationship:
Dualism
The theory that mind and body are completely different realities.
- Platonic Dualism: Man is composed of a divine and immortal soul and an imperfect, mortal body. The soul is divided into rational (intellect), irritable (will), and concupiscent (desire) parts.
- Cartesian Dualism: Man is composed of thinking substance (mind) and extended substance (body).
Monism
The conception that mind and body are an inseparable, single reality. Different currents include:
- Materialism: Mind and body are a single unit formed entirely by atoms.
- Behaviorism: Actions and behaviors can be explained without resorting to mental causes.
- Theory of Identity: The mental is reduced to or identified with the physical.