The quality or state of being carnal; devotion to bodily and worldly desires rather than spiritual matters.
From carnal (Latin carnalis 'of flesh') plus English -ness suffix forming abstract nouns. Emerged in religious English from medieval theological writing.
This word appears constantly in old sermons warning against 'carnalness' as a spiritual danger—it's basically the theological warning label for enjoying your physical body too much.
Nominalized form of carnal; abstract noun carrying the full gendered weight of carnality discourse. Philosophers like Thomas Aquinas used 'carnalness' to describe women's essential nature.
Replace with 'embodied nature,' 'physical quality,' or 'sensory capacity' to remove shame language. Historicize when analyzing medieval/Christian philosophy.
["embodied nature","physical quality","sensory capacity"]
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