Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy

by Hass, Lawrence

• ISBN13: 9780253219732
• ISBN10: 0253219736
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-06-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

The work of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty touches on some of the most essential and vital concerns of the world today, yet his ideas are notoriously difficult and not widely understood. Lawrence Hass redresses this problem by offering an exceptionally clear, carefully argued, critical appreciation of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy. Hass provides insight into the philosophical methods and major concepts that characterize Merleau-Ponty's thought. Questions concerning the nature of phenomenology, perceptual experience, embodiment, intersubjectivity, creativity, and philosophy of language are fully and systematically discussed with reference to main currents and discussions in contemporary philosophy. The result is a refreshingly jargon-free invitation into Merleau-Ponty's important and transformational way of understanding human experience.

Author Biography

Lawrence Hass is Professor of Philosophy at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is editor (with Dorothea Olkowski) of Re-Reading Merleau-Ponty: Essays Beyond the Continental-Analytic Divide.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
List of Abbreviations of Texts by Merleau-Ponty	p. xiii
Introduction to Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy: "Singing the World"	p. 1
Prelude: Scenes from the Cartesian Theater	p. 11
The Sensation Fallacy: Toward a Phenomenology of Perception	p. 26
The Secret Life of Things	p. 53
Singing the Living Body Electric	p. 74
Elemental Alterity: Self and Others	p. 100
Later Developments: Ecart, Reversibility, and the Flesh of the World	p. 124
Expression and the Origin of Geometry	p. 146
Behold "The Speaking Word": The Expressive Life of Language	p. 171
Conclusion: The Visible and the Invisible	p. 193
The Multiple Meanings of Flesh in Merleau-Ponty's Late Writings	p. 201
Notes	p. 205
Bibliography	p. 241
Index	p. 249
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