Merleau-Ponty, Maurice

The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)

Average customer rating:

The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
The World of Perception
Structure of Behavior
The Cambridge Companion to Merleau-Ponty (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)

ASIN: 0810101645

Average customer rating:

Signs (SPEP)
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Logic & Language | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Reference Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Sense and Nonsense (SPEP)
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)
The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
The Prose of the World (SPEP)

ASIN: 0810102536

Average customer rating:

A wide ranging intellect
Flesh Ontology
Merleau-Ponty's Last Work

The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Modern | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)
The World of Perception
Matter and Memory (Philosophical Classics)
The Cambridge Companion to Merleau-Ponty (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)

ASIN: 0810104571

Customer Reviews:

A wide ranging intellect.......2005-12-25

As someone with strong backgrounds in neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy I can only applaud M-P's wide-ranging curiosity and knowledge and his refusal to be limited by the artificial boundaries of academic disciplines. His discussion of the phenomenology of perception draws its data and conclusions from many areas--as long as they had something to offer in illuminating and analyzing this important area.

Among M-P's many contributions, there was also, as scholar Glen Mazis put it in one of his reviews here, M-P's "...project to shift the ground of philosophy and phenomenology by diving into the depth of the perceptual world and turning to art as a touchstone for a reawakened perceptual experience."

In this regard, I am reminded of the great but insufficiently appreciated philosopher, Samuel Alexander, who wrote in the early 20th century, in his major work, Space, Time, and Deity. Alexander was similarly eclectic, and moved back and forth between deduction, induction, historical argument, and between science and philosophy, without any sense of discontinuity whatever. In other words, he was willing to use whatever worked.

But getting back to M-P, this book represents M-P's thoroughgoing approach to the phenomenology of perception and in its determination to ground such analysis in the ordinary data of everyday life--much as G.E. Moore attempted to ground his metaphysics in very ordinary, everyday facts. M-P is to be commended for a similar approach in this book also in his The Phenomenology of Perception.

Flesh Ontology.......2004-04-12

The working notes of this book are utterly staggering in their implication to ontology. What is being? Merleau answers in the manner of Lao-Tse, and alludes to something like a divine-feminine at the heart of wild perception. It was said by Sartre in his autobiography "Situations" that after Merleau's mother died who was like a "goddess" to him Merleau returned began the project anew. What is intimated in the working notes is invaluable to the true student of philosophy and life. And in the end, Merleau returns to the very object of his study. You can really feel this descent at the book nears its end. It is, however, an ascent of the entirety of the history of philosophy to a new level of comprehension. That I assure you.

Merleau-Ponty's Last Work.......2000-11-24

The Visible and the Invisible is the last work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, left unfinished by his untimely death. (Does anyone really have a timely death?)

In this volume from Northwestern University Press, the unfinished text is appended by the working notes for the volume in an excellent translation by Alphonso Lingis with deft editing and a sterling introduction by Claude Lefort.

Book Description

Maurice Merleau-Ponty was described by Paul Ricoeur as "the greatest of the French phenomenologists." The new essays in this volume examine the full scope of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy, from his central and abiding concern with the nature of perception and the bodily constitution of intentionality to his reflections on science, nature, art, history, and politics. The authors explore the historical origins and context of his thought as well as its continuing relevance to contemporary work in phenomenology, philosophy of mind, cognitive science, biology, art criticism and political and social theory.

Merleau-Ponty's Ontology 2E: Second Edition (SPEP)

Average customer rating:

Perception of Consciousness.
Great
A fabulous work.
It's okay, but it doesn't live up to the hype....
Great explication of MP but a bit unfair to 'postmodernism'

Merleau-Ponty's Ontology 2E: Second Edition (SPEP)
M. C. Dillon
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Modern | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Ontology | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Chiasms: Merleau-Ponty's Notion of Flesh (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
The Being of the Phenomenon: Merleau-Ponty's Ontology (Studies in Continental Thought)
Nature: Course Notes from the Collège de France
The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)

ASIN: 081011528X

Customer Reviews:

Perception of Consciousness. .......2005-05-30

I had the priviledge of hearing Martin Dillon lecture on Merleau-Ponty a few years ago in a Philosophy of Consciousness Master Class. Not only was he completely charismatic and a fascinating speaker but his work is a very interesting journey in discovering a profound flaw in the basis of the historical model for epistemology. This is exactly what Merleau-Ponty was dialectically pointing out in all his works. Perhaps as some have noted, Dillon tends to oversimplify by flat out tackling the problem of reduction and the cartesian separation of mind and matter. . . the point of the Merleau-Ponty's work is usually hidden to most because of it's dialectical nature... Dillon is merely trying to put this right out on the table and tackle the logistics of our finite nature we have overlooked. The infinite form of the good is something man can never achieve simply because he is not divine - therefore, why should we base all our models of thought and learning on the idea that the only way to know something is to transcend the body into the Mind? Our ultimate knowledge lies in our bodily interaction with the world. The fact that we will end gives us the ultimate meaning. Our divinity is our finite nature. Martin Dillon's work is a must read for anyone who is interested in phenomenology. He is blunt but do not mistake this as a flaw... it is simply his style.

Great.......2003-07-11

Dillon puts Merleau-Ponty in an historical persepctive and his thesis is that Merleau-Ponty's ontology is the first non-dualistic in western philosophy. Were Husserl failed becuse of his cartesian constraints Merelau-Ponty succedes. Dillon's masterful understanding of western philosophy and its limitations leads him to see Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology as the only true alternative to traditional thought. He now want us to understand this, and when we do continue in Merleau-Pontys direction and evolve philosophy from the constraints av tradtional dualistic thought.

A fabulous work........2003-06-14

Pay no heed to the pretentiousness of what one reviewer decried as "bipolar" (good guys vs. bad guys) philosophy, this is the greatest secondary philosophical text I have ever read, and perhaps what really irritated the previous reviewer wasn't Dillon's "no real understanding of Husserl," or the "[tired] postmodernism-bashing [that] shows no real understanding of the positions under discussion", but rather was Dillon's own palatable disdain for such intellectual pretentiousness reverberating throughout his text. Rather than writing in ego-gratifying but incomprehensible prose, Dillon authors a wonderfully open and accessible philosophical text that clearly and cogently explains the complex issues under discussion, a feat that is ultimately more difficult than the all to common obscure and esoteric ramblings of modern philosophy.

Far from being a "bipolar" text, this book offers an intricate examination of the historical progression and ultimate failure of bipolar/reductionist thought in the western tradition, be it mind vs. body dualism, immanence vs. transcendence, or linguistic realism vs. conventionalism. Dillon demonstrates convincingly how polarizing (and ultimately second-order) constructions of reality ultimately betray the underlying ontological reality which they were designed to explain by rendering truth and judgment valuation impossible. He then goes on to explain why he believes that the thought of Merleau-Ponty, grounded on the ontological primacy of the phenomena, avoids this reifying of second-order abstractions that create ontological polarization and collapse reality into exclusive spheres of immanence or transcendence.

Moreover, contrary to what was said in the past review, Merleau-Ponty is never deified in the book as someone who "fell from the sky one day to solve all of our philosophical problems". Dillon has obvious disagreements with aspects of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy (read "The Body In Its Sexual Being" from M-P's Phenomenology of Perception and then Dillon's Beyond Romance for one example) that are not presented in this work due to its nature as a secondary text on Merleau-Ponty's ontology, published at a time when such a topic was rarely discussed. Still, this book never even approaches presenting Merleau-Ponty in such a god-like portrait; rather Dillon simply but methodically presents the case that Merleau-Ponty, unlike Sartre among others, offers a true phenomenological ontology grounded on the primacy of the phenomena that (if considered seriously) presents a real and unavoidable challenge to polarizing/reductionist ontological theories, including those that came to the fore after Merleau-Ponty's death in the "linguistic turn".

As the reviewer from the Moon says: "if good philosophy is what you want, it's rarely so bipolar."

It's okay, but it doesn't live up to the hype...........2003-01-15

Sure, Dillon's book is probably the most popular thing on Merleau-Ponty in English, but is that really justified? Throughout the book, Dillon claims to elucidate Merleau-Ponty's position by contrasting his work with a completely unrecognizeable caricature of Husserl. Not only does Dillon show no real understanding of Husserl, but he also ignores the fact that Merleau-Ponty consistently praises Husserl, from the beginning to the end of his career (see the new Merleau-Ponty, _Husserl at the Limits of Phenomenology_). The postmodernism-bashing is also very tired and shows no real understanding of the positions under discussion.

Simply put, to believe Dillon's presentation of Merleau-Ponty, you'd have to believe he just fell from the sky one day to solve all of our philosophical problems--no relation to his predecessors nor to his successors. Not only is this bad history of philosophy, but it ignores Merleau-Ponty's own far more subtle and penetrating method of reading those who preceded him in the history of philosophy. If it's all such a simple little problem of overcoming the evils of Cartesianism, why is Merleau-Ponty's reading of Descartes (see the 1960-1961 course in _Notes de cours, 1959-1961_) so much more complex and interesting than Dillon's?

Perhaps the biggest advantage of Dillon's book is that it makes everything so neat and tidy, the good guys and the bad guys. Some people need this kind of orderly arrangement in their lives. If that's you, go for it. But if good philosophy is what you want, it's rarely so bipolar.

Great explication of MP but a bit unfair to 'postmodernism'.......1999-10-22

Dillon gives an illuminating discussion of the 'philosophical dualism' - e.g. in Descartes, Hume, Kant and Sartre - against which Merleau-Ponty is arguing. Dillon's treatment of Merleau-Ponty's central concepts is at once lucid and fair. I think this book would be ideal either as an introduction or as a supplement to MP's thought (Dillon offers some persuasive criticisms of MP as well). My only criticism is that Dillon's picture of 'poststructualism', of which Derrida is taken to be the 'whipping boy', is perhaps a bit unfair -- but the few oversimplifications are just as informative as Dillon's many accute insights into the "postmodern fervor." Anyone interested in MP should certainly check this mama out.

Average customer rating:

Sense and Nonsense (SPEP)
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
Signs (SPEP)
The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)
The Absent Body

ASIN: 0810101661

The Being of the Phenomenon: Merleau-Ponty's Ontology (Studies in Continental Thought)

Average customer rating:

The Being of the Phenomenon: Merleau-Ponty's Ontology (Studies in Continental Thought)
Renaud Barbaras
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Modern | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

The Cambridge Companion to Merleau-Ponty (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)
Chiasms: Merleau-Ponty's Notion of Flesh (Suny Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)
Merleau-Ponty's Ontology 2E: Second Edition (SPEP)
The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
Nature: Course Notes from the Collège de France

ASIN: 0253216451

Feminist Interpretations of Maurice Merleau-ponty (Re-Reading the Canon)

Average customer rating:

Feminist Interpretations of Maurice Merleau-ponty (Re-Reading the Canon)

Manufacturer: Pennsylvania State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Modern | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Criticism | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Feminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 027102917X

Book Description

More than sixty years ago, Simone de Beauvoir identified the importance of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's writings to feminist theory. His exploration of the relationship between the body and the space it inhabits is key to modern phenomenological thinking. But there has been little agreement on how Merleau-Ponty's ideas ultimately have an impact on feminist philosophy. Does his emphasis on physical subjectivity lend a certain agency to all bodies, regardless of sex? Or do Merleau-Ponty's specific descriptions of physical experience betray an intrinsic bias toward a male heterosexual point of view? The essays presented here by Olkowski and Weiss attempt to situate Merleau-Ponty in the larger context of feminist theory, while impartially evaluating his contributions, both positive and negative, to that theory.

Nature: Course Notes from the Collège de France

Average customer rating:

Important Reading for Students of Merleau-Ponty

Nature: Course Notes from the Collège de France
Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Manufacturer: Northwestern University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)
The World of Perception
Husserl at the Limits of Phenomenology (SPEP)
Structure of Behavior
The Being of the Phenomenon: Merleau-Ponty's Ontology (Studies in Continental Thought)

ASIN: 0810114461

Customer Reviews:

Important Reading for Students of Merleau-Ponty.......2004-04-06

"La Nature" is a volume that should be most welcome by students of Merleau-Ponty. It is a translation of three courses given by Merleau-Ponty at the College de France.

The first course, given in 1956-57 is entitled "The Concept of Nature," a survey of the historical elements that constitute the present concept of nature, from Aristotle and the Stoics, through a new reading of Descartes, Kant and a novel look at Schelling. From there it's on to Bergson and Husserl. Merleau-Ponty is tracing the idea of nature in each thinker and how it corresponds to ontology, attempting a new vision of nature more in step with recent developments in science. But he squanders the gains he made when he deals with the developments in physics. This stands as the weakest part of the lectures. Though he gives a good summary of quantum mechanics, he fails to understand the ramifications of quantum physics and its effect on nature, and, ultimately, ontology, preferring instead to hide behind Bergson and the process philosophy of Whitehead. Instead of using the new physics as a starting point, he instead settles for the cul-de-sac of metaphysics.

The second course given in 1957-58, is concerned with deconstructing the Cartesian concept of Nature by examining the recent advances in biology and behavioral studies. Animal as machine is replaced by the animal as being finding itself in the world: How does the animal show itself to others (including humans) - leading to asking what is the structure, then, of its behavior and how does it signify? His lecture of Lorenz's study of instinct is the highlight of this section.

The third course, 1959-60, is entitled "Nature and Logos: The Human Body." He re-examines his findings of the previous years and the emergence of the human body at the intersection of Nature and reason: "the concern is to grasp humanity first as another manner of being a body - to see humanity emerge just like Being in the manner of a watermark, not as another substance, but as `interbeing', and not as an imposition of a for-itself on a body in-itself." This would later begin to developed in his last work, "The Visible and the Invisible," left unfinished by his sudden death. One can only wonder where he might have gone had he only lived to complete the work. These lectures give us a tantalizing peek into what well may have been.

Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Basic Writings
Average customer rating:
Maurice Merleau-Ponty: Basic Writings

Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Existentialism | Movements | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Phenomenology | Movements | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Modern | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Qualifying Textbooks - Spring 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)

The Primacy of Perception: And Other Essays on Phenomenological Psychology, the Philosophy of Art, History and Politics (SPEP)

The Visible and the Invisible (SPEP)

Nature: Course Notes from the Collège de France

Structure of Behavior

ASIN: 0415315875

Book Description

Merleau-Ponty was a pivotal figure in twentieth century French philosophy. He was responsible for bringing the phenomenological methods of the German philosophers, Husserl and Heidegger, to France and instigated a new wave of interest in this approach. His influence extended well beyond the boundaries of philosophy and can be seen in theories of politics, art and language.

This is the first volume to bring together a comprehensive selection of Merleau-Ponty's writing and presents a cross-section of his work which shows the historical progression of his ideas and influence.

Philosophers:

Philosophers

Philosophers