Kevin's review
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
by Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Kevin's review
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics) by Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Kevin's review
rating:
recommended 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 divide, and carefully explores the process of time as the subject's awareness of itself as an object in the world. He provides an alternative to ontological dualism through notions of what could be called "embodied-subjectivity-in-the-world." Indeed, this book can be very useful for those interested in challenging the basic assumptions of Western philosophy, especially those who study Buddhism and Hinduism. Emerging out of the same cultural-historical moment that brought ...more
