Abstract

The tradition of reason-centered Western philosophy, beginning with Plato, who emphasized rational thinking in his Idea, was followed by Enlightenment philosophers, including Descartes, who began to consider the mind and the body as separate. With the development of modern science and technology, the tradition of reason-centered thinking has grown stronger and continues to this day. Even in modern science and technology, there is a strong cerebral centered thinking that situates the essence of our self in the brain (mind, reason), with the body understood as an instrument that performs the functions of the mind and thought to be replaceable. Against the backdrop of rapidly developing modern science and technology, this kind of brain-centered thinking has led to dreams of mind-uploading, and it is believed that technology will soon make it possible to turn this wish into a reality. But does our body truly function as an instrument? This instrumental view of the body in Western philosophy is criticized by Merleau-Ponty, who emphasizes subjective status of the body. This paper examines two films about mind-uploading technology through the lens of Merleau-Ponty’s body philosophy and argues that the body is not a tool, but a place that makes human existence possible.