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33rd out of 465 books
—
437 voters
Phenomenology of Perception
Challenging and rewarding in equal measure, Phenomenology of Perception is Merleau-Ponty's most famous work. Impressive in both scope and imagination, it uses the example of perception to return the body to the forefront of philosophy for the first time since Plato. Drawing on case studies such as brain-damaged patients from the First World War, Merleau-Ponty brilliantly s...more
Paperback, 4th Reprint, 544 pages
Published
May 3rd 2005
by Routledge
(first published 1945)
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Merleau-Ponty is, for me, the best writer in phenomenology since Husserl, who created the damned thing. While Phenomenology of Perception is clearly a product of its time, and the available psychology, the amount of interesting work that Merleau-Ponty is able to do in what is essentially proto-cognitive science is very impressive. His work is carried forward in the writing of Alva Noë and others, and I do think that the ways that Merleau-Ponty gets updated and the ways that he more-or-less stays...more
In some ways this may be the most phenomenal philosophy book that I have ever read. In it, Merleau-Ponty attempts to present a description of how human beings perceive the world in which they live. He is often surprisingly successful. The evidence for me came in a startling manner. While reading the section about perceiving the body, I had an experience for which I have no words, but that perhaps comes closest to what certain mystics would call enlightenment. But it was a completely bodily enlig...more
First, I must admit it took me many months to read this book. Frankly, I can only handle one chapter at time. But like many such books, the work pays off as one slowly reflects on the slow, detailed exposition of a philosophy. In some ways, I see this book as a sequel to Schopenhauer's World of Will and Representation (a book that takes even longer to read). Merleau-Ponty takes the world of representation -- or perception -- and deeply explores how consciousness arises, not as a thing itself, b...more
"What is phenomenology? It may seem strange that this question has still to be asked half a century after the first works of Husserl" So says Merleau-Ponty in the opening pages of `Phenomenology of Perception,' perhaps the major work of phenomenology after `Being and Time.' Merleau-Ponty sought, rather brilliantly, to redirect attention to the human body as the locus of our being-in-the-world for phenomenological inquiry. Unfortunately, I am convinced that Merleau-Ponty's efforts to turn the res...more
Sep 08, 2007
Kevin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those interested in deep, intricate philosophy, phenomenology and psychology
This book may not interest the casual reader and involves wading through (and re-reading) dense and nuanced arguments, but for those who are curious about phenomenology or alternative approaches to psychology from the "black box" input-output processing model typified by behaviorism, this is a book well worth spending some time with. Merleau-Ponty challenges the bifurcation of immanence and transcendence the emerged out of the Cartesian-Newtonian paradigm, such as the subject-object or mind-body...more
I haven't time to find the exact quote but somewhere in this book Merleau-Ponty - or 'Merleau-Ponty-Ponty' as I have affectionately come to think of him - states that all the best writers never read what they have written, he then goes on to do his very best at disproving this theory. But to be fair there is some really great stuff in this book: once you get past the first couple of hundred pages and get to the chapters on space and temporality this book works as a thoroughly absorbing meditatio...more
Along with Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Levinas, Merleau-Ponty is an "existential phenomenologist": a philosopher concerned with the experiences that constitute human existence. He's often overlooked in favor of Heidegger or Sartre, but this is unfair; his analysis of human embodiment not only build on theirs, but go much, much further.
Phenomenology of Perception is concerned with the first-person experience of being embodied, or of having a body. Merleau-Ponty shows how basic features of hu...more
Phenomenology of Perception is concerned with the first-person experience of being embodied, or of having a body. Merleau-Ponty shows how basic features of hu...more
Apr 18, 2012
Jem
added it
Maurice Merleau-Ponty's "Phenomenology of Perception" attempts - as Hubert Dreyfus says - to reclaim the role of the body in intelligent behavior; that is to say, your body is an essential component in cognition. A new translation by Donald Landes has just been released and this might help put a finer grain to Merleau-Ponty's ideas since the translator himself specializes in Merleau-Ponty's philosophy!
Collection of essays on different forms of expression - from gestures to a word. Merleau - Ponty uses methods from different of science and humanities, especially biology, psychology or linguistics. According to the philosopher the most important expression in human disposition is the expression of word. All essays shows the general form of new conception of theory of culture - original idea of the philosopher.
This is his core work. A must read. Along with Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and Levinas, Merleau-Ponty is an "existential phenomenologist": a philosopher concerned with the experiences that constitute human existence. He's often overlooked in favor of Heidegger or Sartre, but this is unfair; his analysis of human embodiment not only build on theirs, but go much, much further.
Thinking of the body without using biological reductionism? How events 'cement' our bodily movement and shape. An under-rated text in philosophy that extends on many of Heidegger's ideas, but referring to the human body. Heidegger while fascinating can be critiqued for never mentioning that human have actual bodies that are thrown into the world.
I only read perception of the body. This is type of book that, because of its density and nuance, should be read closely and with a lot of focus. It's not something you can just glance over. The arguments he used in expounding his idea about our perception of our bodies was brimming with erudition and knowledge.
Not an easy read, but a thought-provoking book. Merleau-Ponty essentially sets forth reasons to rethink philosophy's approaches in an age of science and psychology; not a call to end philosophy or render it irrelevant, though. He suggests that philosophy as a discipline can become MORE relevant if philosophers admit of phenomena and look to the ontology of being as an aspect of phenomena. He's not a reductionist; though he is often classed with the existentialists, he's not that, either. Nor wou...more
Sep 11, 2012
Bennett
is currently reading it
working my way through this classic piece of thinking, wishing i'd read it twenty years ago, and maybe i'd not have wasted so much of my life trying to read the more fashionable thinkers of the 80s and 90s. inspiring!
There is so much interesting stuff in this book, plus it is heavy enough to be used as a doorstop! Love this book....
Dauntingly large, but remarkably prescient; often a joy to read, and containing immense depths. Justifiably a classic.
Still not sure what to make of Merleau-Ponty, but... I think differently now.
Quand je lis, j'ai l'habitude d'indiquer les passages qui me frappent avec un morceau de papier (jamais je n'écorne les pages !). Dans un bon roman, je veux retrouver les extraits les plus éloquents, les plus émouvants. Pour un oeuvre d'histoire ou de philosophie, je marque tous ce qui mérite l'étude plus approfondie. Lorsque j'ai achevé la lecture d'un(e) philosophe, une véritable forêt pousse dans les pages.
J'en ai lu 200 pages ; je n'ai marqué qu'une seule page -- et ça pour une note de bas d...more
J'en ai lu 200 pages ; je n'ai marqué qu'une seule page -- et ça pour une note de bas d...more
One of the most thought-provoking books I have ever read
This should required reading for humans. and robots.
The only important philosophy book of our time :)
Jul 11, 2012
Mohamed
added it
(some html is ok)
did you think?
did you think?
started me on my road to thesis...
Aug 07, 2012
manwithoutqualities
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
philosophy-of-mind,
situated-cognition
A classic of situated cogs.
rereading bits and pieces...
Apr 01, 2010
Liz
is currently reading it
Rereading slowly...
Rebind.
Finally finished this thing! No insightful comments at this time, but this two-month reading experience was a good one. Reading phenomenology is especially good in a variety of settings, mindsets, fevers, loud rooms...
Anyone who's having trouble don't put it down. It's not really that hard to read, it just might take a while. Philosophy is metabolized slowly. (And poo poo to the reviewer who said she "read it in a few hours." A novel can be read and enjoyed in a matter of hours, but not this.)
Anyone who's having trouble don't put it down. It's not really that hard to read, it just might take a while. Philosophy is metabolized slowly. (And poo poo to the reviewer who said she "read it in a few hours." A novel can be read and enjoyed in a matter of hours, but not this.)
view all 4 comments
If you want to read a book about phenomenology that is both informative and engaging, I would recommend this one. Husserl's book is way too dense, and the writing is just very out-dated therefore making his ideas even more abstract and hard to understand. The examples he provides also didn't clear up any confusion I had. This book is far more better.
Here, friends, have a little philosophy from my list of favorites... This book is both profound and extremely accessible / readable / not 'full-of-itself' (like guattari). Read it in a span of a few hours, add a bit of Plato's "Theaetetus" for good measure. If you're architecturally minded, also add Steven Holl's "Phenomenology of Perception" to the mix. If this isn't good chemistry, I don't know what chemistry is.
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Maurice Merleau-Ponty (pronounced [mɔʁis mɛʁlopɔ̃ti] in French; March 14, 1908 – May 3, 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger in addition to being closely associated with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is a sustained argument for the foundational role that perception plays in u...more
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“The body is our general medium for having a world.”
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“We must therefore rediscover, after the natural world, the social world, not as an object or sum of objects, but as a permanent field or dimension of existence.”
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12 people liked it
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