Abstract

The literature in education is conspicuously lacking in any meaningful or sustained discussion of the body's role in education. This thesis suggests that body and mind do not mutually exclude one another but rather, they are the two aspects that, together, form the whole person. Paradox is a key concept here because it offers a vision of reality that brings together "apparent opposites" into a tensed relationship thereby creating a framework that allows for the integration of body and mind into a cohesive whole. This thesis argues that myth is an expression of humankind's paradoxical nature, and that the hero myth, in particular, points to a path that leads to the embodiment of paradox, and thus to wholeness. This, however, requires a journey into the depths of the body in order to get in touch with the body and the entire range of its feelings. It is further argued that this process reconnects us to our body. To embody paradox, therefore, signifies the integration of body and mind into a unified whole.