Corpo, disciplina e educação física: o conceito de disciplina em Kant e seus aportes para o cuidado com o corpo na contemporaneidade

Abstract

The importance of human body has gradually increased throughout History, especially Western Philosophy, until it reached the understanding of being a body itself or being one s body. Likewise, in Physical Education, time has brought it more relevance. From that point of view, man, as a strong presence in social expectations, acts towards his Body in such a way that shows the significant influence of the social context in the process of its structuring. Kant, in his doctrine for education, treats discipline as an important characteristic in constituting that same man and moreover describes the importance that society and man himself have in structuring each other, that is, man and society in a relationship which is necessary for that. One can observe that the kind of care in the sense of paying attention to something that the man can have with his corporeal body and the body that is in the world, loses some space by means of the social context that involves human beings and refers more specifically to a body that is in the world, similarly to an object. Thus, the study described here has the purpose of investigating the principles of Kantian discipline regarding the body in contemporaneity. The study was carried out according to one of the research lines of the Graduate Program in Education at the University of Caxias do Sul, which is History and Philosophy of Education. Upon bibliographic research, the Body in Western History is analyzed according to four thinkers, which are Plato, Saint Augustine, Descartes, and Merleau-Ponty, and also according to history of Physical Education. Later, the study approaches the Kantian educational doctrine, especially in what relates to discipline, with the purpose of structuring its contributions as for the way man acts with his body. And, finally, Physical Education is considered in the field of Education, considering discipline and the body, and the body itself in society today, in its condition of being more exposed. At the end, concepts from Kant s ideas are crossed with the current, aiming to point out contributions from Kant. The study has been divided in five parts: the introduction, followed by a chapter that deals with the Body in Western Philosophy and in Physical Education; then another chapter that focuses on Kant s educational doctrine and a chapter centered on the Body in today s society, and ends with some final remarks. It was possible to observe that the social context influences man s behavior significantly and that, many times, such influence is not very healthy. The autonomy described by Kant is highlighted, motivated by the confusion in determination by man s actions. Would man s attitudes be autonomous or impelled by society? From that point of view, Kantian discipline emerges as a possibility of reeducating young people, with the purpose of keeping man away from bad habits, self-indulgence, and guiding him towards a path where self-determination and physical health are part of.