The Description of the Human Body soul. A sick or injured body does not do what we want or moves in ways we do not want. He believed the death of the body stopped it from being fit to bring about movement. This did not necessarily happen because the soul left the body. René Descartes believed the body could exist through mechanical means alone. This included digestion, blood circulation, muscle movement and some brain function. He felt we all know what the human body is like because animals have similar bodies and we have all seen them opened up. He saw the body as a machine.
Catholic theology of the body union is not possible, abstinence is required. And, he added, in the time of World War II, so many acts of real heroism were required of men and women in so many countries, against which sexual abstinence paled in comparison. The human body and its needs should not be the centre of gratification but need to be sublimated to spiritual priorities that reflect the divine design and destiny. Marriage is not the highest value and human dignity must be preserved and applied in the marital act. The teachings of the Church reject a hedonistic view of the human body, while