Starting with Merleau-Ponty

Description

Merleau-Ponty was one of the most important European philosophers of the 20th century, whose work made enormous contributions to the development of phenomenology and the concept of the lived-body. Clearly and thematically structured, covering all Merleau-Ponty's key works and focussing particularly on the hugely important The Phenomenology of Perception, Starting with Merleau-Ponty leads the reader through a thorough overview of the development of his thought, resulting in a more thorough understanding of the roots of his philosophical concerns. Offering coverage of the full range of Merleau-Ponty's ideas, the book firmly sets his work in the context of the 20th century intellectual landscape and explores his contributions to phenomenology, existentialism, empiricism, objective thought and his vision of human reality. Crucially the book introduces the major thinkers and events that proved influential in the development of Merleau-Ponty's work, including Husserl, Sartre, Heidegger and those philosophers and psychologists whom he labelled 'intellectualists' and 'empiricists'. This is the ideal introduction for anyone coming to the work of this hugely important thinker for the first time. Title Copyright Dedication Page Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Preface Chapter 1 Starting with Merleau-Ponty i. Phenomenology and existential philosophy: Husserl and Heidegger ii. Merleau-Ponty’s ‘reconciling project’ iii. Merleau-Ponty’s distinctive contributions: first glimpses iv. Coda: What phenomenology is not Chapter 2 ‘Intellectual Prejudices’ in Analyses of Perception i. Gestalt qualities ii. The Empiricist Picture iii. Intellectualist variants on the empiricist picture iv. ‘The phenomenal field’ v. Coda: Merleau-Ponty and science Chapter 3 The Body i. ‘special object’ VS. BODY SCHEMA ii. A better account: Cartesian physiology vs. embodied being-in-the-world iii. A better vocabulary: ‘motor intentionality’ and the ‘POWER OF PROJECTION’ iv. USING THE ABNORMAL I: ‘DECODING’ VS. ‘PHYSIOGNOMY’ v. USING THE ABNORMAL II: habits, skills and bodily knowledge vi. Coda: Normal and Abnormal Chapter 4 The body and the Perceived World i. Some background and the example of depth ii. The constancies: the example of colour iii. The unity of the senses and intersensory unity iv. Orientation v. Coda: Concrete essences and the life-world a priori Chapter 5 Others i. The problem of others ii. Tacit cogito and ‘second cogito’ iii. The interworld iv. Bodily reciprocity v. Coda: Gestures and speech Chapter 6 Merleau-Ponty vivant i. Illness ii. Women iii. Culture iv. Animals v. Coda: intellectual prejudices Notes Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Bibliography Index