The Essence of Virtuality: Exploring the Digital Body

Abstract

This “think piece” explores the definitional possibilities of “body”—that is, what is a body and how should we understand it, especially in light of the recent emergence of virtual bodies.  To this end, the author employs an essentialist framework for understanding: Is the body reducible to some fundamental essence or substance, something common to all bodies?  To what extent does a definition of body extend to virtual bodies?  These questions (and others) are posited, and the author invites readers to consider the manifold issues engendered by such reflection.