An extremely important fact of human nature is widely ignored today: that a human being is an integration of both mind and body.
Rival theories in philosophy state that a human being is only a mind, that the physical world is only an illusion, including one’s one body (idealism); a human being is only a mind, the mental world is only an illusion (materialism); and the mind and the body exist in two separate realms (dualism), (along with the many variations of these essential theories).
Objectivism, the philosophy created by Ayn Rand, holds that a human being is an integration of mind and body, which means, that both are critical to his own survival, and both should be exercised to their fullest extent.
This being said, many people today implicitly accept either materialism, idealism, or a hazy combination of both. According to materialism, the mental world is only an illusion, and therefore, the physical is what is really important. People who implicitly accept this idea are generally characterized by being in great physical shape and having great physical abilities but lacking in intellectual prowess and emotional stability. According to idealism, the physical world is only an illusion, and therefore, the mental is what is really important. People who implicity accept this idea are generally characterized by having good intellectual skills, emotional stability, and peace of mind; but lacking in physical abilities and being in good shape. Those who accept materialism seem to implicity scorn the mind, and those who accept idealism seem to implicity scorn the body.
The correct theory concerning the mind and the body is Objectivism, which recognizes the mind and the body as of equal importance to a human being’s survival.
I used to implicitly scorn the material as inferior to the mental, and as a result, I have become quite out of shape physically. Now that I have finally grasped that man is the integration of mind and body however, I will be able to benefit my life much more than I previously could while I believed that only the mental has importance.
This may seem like simple common sense, that one should exercise one’s body and one’s mind, but it is something that many people forget today.
