The Philosophy of Merleau-Ponty

Continental European Philosophy

by Eric Matthews

In this introduction to the life and thought of one of the most important French thinkers of the twentieth-century Eric Matthews shows how Merleau-Ponty has contributed to current debates in philosophy, such as the nature of consciousness, the relation between biology and personality, the historical understanding of human thought and society, and many others. Surveying the whole range of Merleau-Ponty's thinking, the author examines his views about the nature of phenomenology and the primacy of perception; his account of human embodiment, being-in-the-world, and his understanding of human behaviour; his conception of the self and its relation to other selves; and, his views on society, politics, and the arts. A final chapter considers his later thought, published posthumously. The ideas of Merleau-Ponty are shown to be of immense importance to the development of French philosophy and the author evaluates his distinctive contributions and relates his thought to that of his predecessors, contemporaries and successors, both in France and elsewhere. This unrivalled introduction will be welcomed by philosophers and cognitive scientists as well as students taking courses in contemporary continental philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Anthony Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first encounter with Merleau-Ponty and I fully intend to read him in the original. Indeed, I wish I had read his work much earlier in my career. I like the way he grasps the notion that people are “embodied”. Also, he seems to have a profound understanding of the way peoples’ lives are historically and socially grounded. Other writers know this, but M-P seems to want to express this theoretically. For M-P, the creative process that gives rise to human individuality is a cooperative one done in communication with others. This is a vision which accords with my own experience and understanding.

As a social scientist, I was particularly interested in M-P’s understanding of the self and the other. I like the idea that the otherness of people does not lead to a loopy form of solipsism. Solipsism or relativism is something school-students seem to have re-discovered in every generation since Protagoras; and it seems still to be endemic among modern social scientists often in remarkably crude forms. As Matthews indicates, as well as being other, other people are nevertheless similar to ourselves and as such (albeit imperfectly) understandable. And it is the fact of human communication, central to M-P’s philosophy, that must surely provide important foundation for all of the human sciences.

This book is not, of course, easy to read, but nor is it ridiculously obscure. The author writes lucidly and simply. He has certainly inspired me to dip into M-P some more. It is a good, well-written book.

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com

.??? 2000s?: this is the first book i read on merleau-ponty: concise, complete, very encouraging. sometimes i am impressed by this series on Continental European Philosophers, as i have read well on sartre, nietzche, heidegger, derrida, have yet to read kierkegaard, schopenhauer, as proto-existentialists…