well, I have two people accusing me of ignoring them, which surprises me, because I thought I made an informative and thoughtful post.
My statement relating body modification to proving one's existence to myself is opinion only--just what struck me as I read the thread, and I don't have anything other than my personal feelings to back this up. It's possible it's not accurate, nor even related to this rather light-hearted thread, because I tend to relate everything to body modification--it's just my thing. Cartesian theory
is related to society's treatment of this subject, and I can provide more quotes from my sources--but I don't think that's what you are looking for.
I am also not handing anyone a list of reading material--I offered, in case anyone was interested. I'm just always eager to share my passion with other people--aren't you?