IntroductionThe phrase "wisdom of the body" might seem quite absurd at first. This is because wisdom is usually understood as a kind of metaphysical reality -something in our mind, not something that exists in the physical reality or is empirically sensible. Wisdom can be comprehended by reason alone. On the other hand, the body in its activities is not something thoughtful or conscious in and of itself. The body is experienced in and through our senses. Furthermore, the objective empirical science of medicine is widely recognized as the best approach for understanding the body and how it functions. However, the ancient Greeks have termed the embodiment or personification of "wisdom" Mētis, the daughter of Oceanus and Thetys. Among other things, she was the first love and wife of Zeus (Smith 1867). When considering human excellence, arête or virtue, Aristotle claimed that it was neither practical nor theoretical. As Miller (2004, p. 239) states, Aristotle's belief was that "all parts of the human person -body, soul and mind -were needed to practice arête." This demonstrates with clarity why Aristotle saw physical education as essential in supporting the development of knowledge:
Telo v antiki ni bilo le objekt človeške manipulacije in »ječa duše«, temveč tudi vir učenja in spoznanj. V tem dualističnem odnosu do telesa je mogoče prepoznati tudi ločitev med dvema antičnima pogledoma na medicino in zdravje: za prvega zadošča zdravnikovo znanje in oster skalpel, medtem ko je za drugega zdravje predvsem posledica zmožnosti prisluhniti modrosti telesa ter harmonične uskladitve lastnega življenja z naravo. Telo je ljudi učilo zmernosti in pravičnosti – ob vsakršnem pretiravanju je človek tako takrat kot danes dobil opozorilo v obliki bolečine, srčnosti v vztrajanju in potrpljenja, ko je telo zahtevalo svoj počitek in čas za zdravljenje. In, nenazadnje, razumnosti in spoznanja resnice o sebi in o drugem ob soočenju s telesnimi izzivi. Kako se antični ideal modrosti telesa kaže v sodobnih športnih praksah, pa je osrednja tema tega prispevka.
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