Embodied Soul

Abstract

This article explores the nature of embodied soul as a phenomenon of concern to nursing. Examples of the body/soul debate from early Greek philosophers to the present day are examined. Early writings on the subject echo in medieval writings and in present-day knowledge of neuroscience and physics, as well as in the writings of Merleau-Ponty. The author proposes that nursing embrace the concept as it relates to Berry's patterns of differentiation, subjectivity, and communion in the universe. These patterns exist from the cellular to the cosmic level. It is through the embodied soul that one engages in this process. The works of selected nurse theorists are examined as they relate to the topic. Both the subject of the client and of the nurse as embodied souls are addressed.