Synopses & Reviews
When it was first published in France in 1945 as Ph nom nologie de la Perception Maurice Merleau-Ponty was a relatively unknown philosopher, teaching at the University of Lyon in France. Since its publication and subsequent translation into many languages, Phenomenology of Perception is now hailed as a classic of Twentieth Century philosophy. This major new translation makes his most important work available to a new generation of readers.
Profound in both scope and detail, Phenomenology of Perception stands in the great phenomenological tradition of Husserl, Heidegger and Sartre. Yet Merleau-Ponty departs from the story told by his predecessors including Descartes - by arguing that philosophy has neglected a crucial dimension of lived experience: the role of the body.
Charting a bold course between the reductionism of science on the one hand and arid intellectualism on the other, he argues that we should regard the body not as a mere biological unit, but as the body with which one lives, experiences as one 's own, and which defines one 's situation within the world. Not only does this ground the faculties of sensation, perception and the experience of time but the very fabric of human existence, including sexuality, one 's relationship to others, speech, and human freedom.
A distinguishing feature of Merleau-Ponty 's monumental study is the way it brings phenomenology to life, drawing on now famous examples including a brain-damaged patient from World War One, cases of synaesthesia, and hallucination. In so doing, Merleau-Ponty anticipates brilliantly subsequent developments in artificial intelligence, robotics, and neuroscience where the body, having been relatively neglected, is now a central feature of research.
This new translation, the first for over forty years, includes many helpful features such as a comprehensive introduction to the text and essential notes explaining key terms of translation. References to recent literature are also included, helping to place Merleau-Ponty 's classic work in the wider context of contemporary philosophy.
Also included is a Foreword by Taylor Carman, and an Introduction by Claude Lefort.
Translated by Donald A. Landes
Synopsis
First published in 1945, Maurice Merleau-Ponty 's monumental Ph nom nologie de la perception signalled the arrival of a major new philosophical and intellectual voice in post-war Europe. Breaking with the prevailing picture of existentialism and phenomenology at the time, it has become one of the landmark works of twentieth-century thought. This new translation, the first for over fifty years, makes this classic work of philosophy available to a new generation of readers.
Phenomenology of Perception stands in the great phenomenological tradition of Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. Yet Merleau-Ponty 's contribution is decisive, as he brings this tradition and other philosophical predecessors, particularly Descartes and Kant, to confront a neglected dimension of our experience: the lived body and the phenomenal world. Charting a bold course between the reductionism of science on the one hand and intellectualism on the other, Merleau-Ponty argues that we should regard the body not as a mere biological or physical unit, but as the body which structures one 's situation and experience within the world.
Merleau-Ponty enriches his classic work with engaging studies of famous cases in the history of psychology and neurology as well as phenomena that continue to draw our attention, such as phantom limb syndrome, synaesthesia, and hallucination. This new translation includes many helpful features such as the reintroduction of Merleau-Ponty 's discursive Table of Contents as subtitles into the body of the text, a comprehensive Translator 's Introduction to its main themes, essential notes explaining key terms of translation, an extensive Index, and an important updating of Merleau-Ponty 's references to now available English translations.
Also included is a new foreword by Taylor Carman and an introduction to Merleau-Ponty by Claude Lefort.
Translated by Donald A. Landes.