Ways in, Ways Out: Theorizing the Kantian Body

Abstract

A self-confessed hypochondriac, Immanuel Kant was prolific on the topic of his own corporeality, diligently recording the details of his ‘ Di‰tetik’–a physical regimen intended to ensure long life. The ‘ Di‰tetik’ reveals a Kantian body in which the orifices–the ways in and out of the body–are problematized, and exchange with the world of objects via these orifices is strictly regulated. The Kantian body is a ‘classic’ body in Bakhtinian terms; its ‘grotesque’ counterpart–the feminine body–is explored in a range of Enlightenment and Romantic texts–philosophical, medical, sociological. The Enlightenment is a turning point in the history of gender difference, when the naturalness of incommensu..