Key points

Culturally, we tend to view the inner self or psyche as the true self.

In so doing, we unreflectively diminish the significance of our physical bodies.

Yet a deeper consideration suggests that we neglect the import of the body at our peril.

For without bodies, there would be little to distinguish us from one another.

In the 1997 comedy Liar Liar , Jim Carrey plays Fletcher Reede, an unscrupulous lawyer who never lets the truth stand in the way of an opportunity to advance his own interests. Having been burned by Reede’s deceits time and again, Max—his young son—makes a wish that for just one day his father would not be able to tell a lie. Magically, the wish comes true and Reede is confronted with the hilarious ramifications of total transparency.

In one scene, after R

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