Abstract

Since Arthur Schopenhauer’s conceptual differentiation between the two modes of givenness regarding the own body, theoretical philosophy is confronted with another serious problem, which is distinct from the problem about the relation of mind and brain. In German language there are two terms to mark the two relata: Körper (living body) and Leib (~ the felt body). But both the ontological mode of Leib and body and their relation are still obscure. In this paper I propose a solution of the Body-Leib-Problem by analyzing the relation between Leib and body, Leib and consciousness, and Leib and world. My essential thesis is that the living body is the representation of the Leib in the world. And this implies that Leib and body are neither identical nor completely different entities. And most notably: the Leib isn’t the mental representation of the own body.