The belief in or practice of giving in to carnal desires; emphasis on physical or sensual pleasures over spiritual or intellectual pursuits.
From carnal, derived from Latin carnis 'flesh,' plus the philosophical suffix -ism; contrasts with spiritualism or asceticism.
Carnalism as a formal philosophy emerged in response to Christian asceticism—it's essentially arguing that the body and its desires are as worthy of attention as the soul.
Carnalism associates bodily/sexual existence with shame, historically used to regulate women's bodies and sexuality. The term pathologizes flesh itself, a legacy of dualistic philosophy that positioned women as more 'carnal' and men as more 'rational'.
Use neutrally when discussing embodiment philosophy, avoiding implications that carnality is inherently shameful. Acknowledge historical gendering in academic contexts.
["embodiment","physicality","material existence"]
Feminist philosophy has reclaimed embodied knowledge and challenged mind-body dualism; women philosophers like Luce Irigaray and Simone de Beauvoir centered the body as source of wisdom, not shame.
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