Lecture 10: Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology and the Body
Dec 3, 2021
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This podcast explores Maurice Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of embodiment and perception. It discusses his unique existentialism, the concept of transcendence, and the distinction between appearance and reality in phenomenology. The podcast also highlights the significance of the body in philosophy and emphasizes the direct experience of things.
Merleau-Ponty emphasizes the importance of the body in our perception and experience, challenging theories that separate consciousness from the world.
He proposes a dynamic account of human experience that goes beyond mechanical and reductionist explanations, highlighting the interconnectedness of the body and our lived experience.
Deep dives
Merle-Ponty's Theory of Historical Embodiment
Merle-Ponty provides an innovative theory of historical embodiment, emphasizing the importance of the body in our perception and experience. He challenges prevailing theories such as empiricism and rationalism, which separate consciousness from the world. Merle-Ponty argues that meaningful knowledge is rooted in the body, rejecting the idea of a detached ego or passive subject. He highlights the forgotten significance of the body in our everyday life, both individually and socially.
The Phenomenological Approach of Merle-Ponty
Merle-Ponty's philosophy is characterized by his use of existential phenomenology, influenced by Edmund Husserl. He focuses on the appearance of our embodiment and emphasizes the role of perception. The body is seen as active and situated, tied to a specific time, place, and context. Merle-Ponty proposes a middle way between empiricism and idealism, offering a dynamic account of human experience that goes beyond mechanistic and reductive explanations.
The Primacy of the Body in Merle-Ponty's Phenomenology
Merle-Ponty argues that consciousness is embodied and relational, inseparable from the body. The body is the primary site of perception and understanding, and its spatiality is not a fixed position but a dynamic situational activity. The body's transcendence is a type of immanence, and it is through the body that we are tied to a historical time and place. Merle-Ponty's phenomenology challenges the dichotomy between mind and world, highlighting the interconnectedness of the body and our lived experience.
In this lecture I would like therefore to do a couple of things. Firstly, I would like to provide some brief biographical background on Merleau-Ponty. Then, I would like to talk about Merleau-Ponty’s primary philosophical method: existential phenomenology. Merleau-Ponty, in my view at least, is one of the most interesting innovators of Edmund Husserl’s phenomenological method. Merleau-Ponty was, with the exception of perhaps Jean-Paul Sartre, the leading exponent of Phenomenology in France. Then, I will proceed to explain what Merleau-Ponty means by perception and conclude with Merleau-Ponty’s theory of the body.
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