Maurice Merleau-Ponty Criticism
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) stands as a pivotal figure in 20th-century French philosophy, renowned for his significant contributions to phenomenology—a philosophical movement initiated by Edmund Husserl. Merleau-Ponty diverged from his predecessors by proposing that consciousness is not isolated but deeply entwined with the world and the body. His seminal works, The Phenomenology of Perception and the posthumously published The Visible and the Invisible, exemplify this innovative approach, tackling complex themes of perception, embodiment, and the interplay between individuals and their environments.
Educated at the École Normale Supérieure, Merleau-Ponty was a contemporary of Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom he co-founded the influential journal Les Temps Modernes. Although initially aligned with Sartre's Marxist perspectives, Merleau-Ponty eventually distanced himself, critiquing the deterministic aspects of Marxist theory, especially regarding the political ramifications seen in Stalinist Russia, as discussed in Humanism and Terror.
Merleau-Ponty's philosophical endeavors are characterized by a rejection of rigid dualisms such as mind versus body, as noted by John F. Bannan, who explores his attempts to reconcile religion and philosophy. His exploration of language and perception, as detailed by Lawrence Hass, underscores a commitment to understanding the lived experience.
Merleau-Ponty's influence extends beyond philosophy into aesthetics and the human sciences, where his theories have been applied to art and psychology. Paul Crowther elaborates on Merleau-Ponty's impact on art, while Richard L. Lanigan discusses his contributions to rhetorical studies.
Despite Merleau-Ponty's untimely death at 53, his work continues to provoke diverse interpretations, resisting definitive categorization. This openness allows for ongoing debates about his legacy in both modern and postmodern contexts, as noted by Hugh J. Silverman and Joseph Margolis.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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Merleau-Ponty on God
(summary)
In the following essay, Bannan discusses Merleau-Ponty's attempts to reconcile religion with philosophy.
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Labyrinth of Incarnations: The Essays of Maurice Merleau-Ponty
(summary)
In the following essay, Said explores Merleau-Ponty's place in post-1930s French philosophy.
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Merleau-Ponty and Sartrian Existentialism—Political and Philosophical
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In the following essay, Rabil examines Merleau-Ponty's response to French existentialism.
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Rhetorical Criticism: An Interpretation of Maurice Merleau-Ponty
(summary)
In the following essay, Lanigan discusses Merleau-Ponty's influence on the study of rhetorical inquiry.
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Reflections on Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenological Description of ‘Word.’
(summary)
In the following essay, Charlesworth examines Merleau-Ponty's concept of words and their meanings.
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Singing the World: Language and Perception
(summary)
In the following essay, Ihde discusses Merleau-Ponty's theories of phenomenology.
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The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Maurice Merleau-Ponty
(summary)
In the following essay, Dolgov presents an overview of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological and aesthetic system of thought.
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The Significance of Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Language
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In the following essay, Edie examines the continuing significance of Merleau-Ponty's unfinished philosophical system.
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Re-Reading Merleau-Ponty
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In the following essay, Silverman argues that Merleau-Ponty's last publication, Philosophy and Non-Philosophy since Hegel, serves as a criticism of his earlier thought and a bridge from modernism to postmodernism.
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Merleau-Ponty on Language: An Interrupted Journey toward a Phenomenology of Speaking
(summary)
In the following essay, Coyne discusses Merleau-Ponty's attempts to create a “gestural” theory of linguistics.
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One Central Link between Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy of Language and His Political Thought
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In the following essay, Dauenhauer examines the place of silence in both Merleau-Ponty's linguistic theories and his thoughts on political action.
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Merleau-Ponty's Existential Dialectic
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In the following essay, Glenn discusses Merleau-Ponty's existential dialectic in terms of “mind and body, of temporality, and of human freedom.”
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Sanity and Myth in Affective Space: A Discussion of Merleau-Ponty
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In the following essay, Levin questions the notions of objective space and metaphysical reality in Merleau-Ponty's theories.
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Merleau-Ponty: Perception into Art
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In the following essay, Crowther explores the significance of Merleau-Ponty's theories of phenomenology to the creation and study of art.
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An Organism of Words: Ruminations on the Philosophical-Poetics of Merleau-Ponty
(summary)
In the following essay, originally presented to the Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association in 1983, Walsh emphasizes the role of the Nietzschian idea of rumination in Merleau-Ponty's theory of phenomenology.
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Textuality and the Flesh: Derrida and Merleau-Ponty
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In the following essay, Flynn suggests what he terms “correspondences” between Merleau-Ponty's late writings and certain features of the work of French deconstructionist Jacques Derrida.
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The Behaviorism of a Phenomenologist—The Structure of Behavior and The Concept of Mind.
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In the following essay, Glenn argues in favor of the primacy of Merleau-Ponty's critique of scientific behaviorism in the study of his later development of phenomenology.
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Between Merleau-Ponty and Postmodernism
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In the following essay, Silverman examines Merleau-Ponty's role in postmodernist theory.
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Merleau-Ponty and Postmodernism
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In the following essay, Margolis discusses Merleau-Ponty's legacy to postmodernism.
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‘The Incomparable Monster of Solipsism’: Bakhtin and Merleau-Ponty
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In the following essay, Gardiner explores affinities between the work of Merleau-Ponty and that of Mikhail Bakhtin.
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Sense and Alterity: Rereading Merleau-Ponty's Reversibility Thesis
(summary)
In the following essay, Hass argues that a thorough understanding of Merleau-Ponty's reversibility thesis is fundamental to grasping his overall theories of phenomenology.
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Merleau-Ponty on God
(summary)
- Further Reading