Taylor Carman - Merleau-Ponty (Routledge Philosophers)

Merleau-Ponty

This is the best introduction to Merleau-Pontys work available. It provides a clear and lucid overview of the whole of Merleau-Pontys thought, presenting the central ideas and themes of his writings in an accessible yet rigorous way. As such, it will be of interest to beginners and advanced scholars alike.

Mark Wrathall, University of CaliforniaRiverside, U.S.A.

a wonderful exposition of Merleau-Pontys philosophy as a whole. It offers clear explanations of Merleau-Pontys ideas and some of the most significant theories and movements that influenced him, and shows how his thinking developed across the course of his life. In addition, Carman has written with great panache.

Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, University of Nottingham, U.K.

Carmans accounting is nuanced, closely argued, and exceptionally clear.

His introduction covers the whole of Merleau-Pontys considerable corpus, tracing its development and exhibiting its continued relevance for contemporary debates in phenomenology and psychology, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics. It will be enormously useful to teachers and students seeking an accessible introduction to Merleau-Pontys writings.

Wayne Martin, University of Essex, U.K.

This book is extremely well writtenvery clear and engagingand, with regard to its representation of Merleau-Pontys philosophy, the account is comprehensive and insightful. I would recommend this book as the first and main commentary for students to consult.

Sebastian Gardner, University College London, U.K.

Routledge Philosophers

Edited by Brian Leiter

University of Texas, Austin

Routledge Philosophers is a major series of introductions to the great Western philosophers. Each book places a major philosopher or thinker in historical context, explains and assesses their key arguments, and considers their legacy. Additional features include a chronology of major dates and events, chapter summaries, annotated suggestions for further reading and a glossary of technical terms.

An ideal starting point for those new to philosophy, they are also essential reading for those interested in the subject at any level.

Hobbes

A. P. Martinich

Leibniz

Nicholas Jolley

Locke

E. J. Lowe

Hegel

Frederick Beiser

Rousseau

Nicholas Dent

Schopenhauer

Julian Young

Freud

Jonathan Lear

Kant

Paul Guyer

Husserl

David Woodruff Smith

Darwin

Tim Lewens

Forthcoming:

Aristotle

Christopher Shields

Spinoza

Michael Della Rocca

Hume

Don Garrett

Fichte and Schelling

Sebastian Gardner

Rawls

Samuel Freeman

Heidegger

John Richardson

Taylor Carman

Merleau-Ponty

First published 2008

by Routledge

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-46185-1 Master e-book ISBN

ISBN 10: 0-415-33980-4 (hbk)

ISBN 10: 0-415-33981-2 (pbk)

ISBN 10: 0-203-46185-1 (ebk)

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-33980-3 (hbk)

ISBN 13: 978-0-415-33981-0 (pbk)

ISBN 13: 978-0-203-46185-3

For Caleb and Sophie

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Chronology

Life and Works

One

1. What Is Perception?

Summary

Further Reading

Intentionality and Perception

Two

1. What Is Intentionality?

5. Molyneuxs Problem

Summary

Further Reading

Body and World

Three

Summary

Further Reading

Contents

vii

Self and Others

Four

Summary

Further Reading

History and Politics

Five

Summary

Further Reading

Vision and Style

Six

Summary

Further Reading

Legacy and Relevance

Seven

Summary

Further Reading

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Acknowledgments

I am indebted to many friends and teachers who have helped me understand Merleau-Ponty and phenomenology. In addition to the participants in the annual meetings of the International Society for Phenomenological Studies, I especially want to thank Lydia Goehr, Sean Kelly, Komarine Romdenh-Romluc, Mark Wrathall, and two anonymous readers for Routledge who offered invaluable critical feedback on the manuscript. My greatest intellectual debt is, as always, to Bert Dreyfus.

I am grateful for support I received from Barnard College during a sabbatical leave in the fall of 2005. Thanks also to my editors, Brian Leiter and Tony Bruce, for their support and patience during the rather long time I have spent writing this book.

Abbreviations

HUSSERL

Id I

Ideen, Erstes Buch

Id II

Ideen, Zweites Buch

Id III

Ideen, Drittes Buch

MERLEAU-PONTY

AD

Les Aventures de la dialectique / Adventures of the Dialectic.

HT

Humanisme et terreur. Essai sur le problme communiste / Humanism and Terror: An Essay on the Communist Problem.

N

La Nature: Notes, Cours du Collge de France / Nature.

Lil et lesprit / Eye and Mind, in The Primacy of Perception /

Eye and Mind, in The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader.

PM

La Prose du monde / The Prose of the World.

PP

Phnomnologie de la perception / Phenomenology of Perception (1962)

/ Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics Edition) (2002).

RC

Rsums de cours, Collge de France 19521960 / Themes from the Lectures at the Collge de France, 19521960. In Praise of Philosophy and Other Essays.

S

Signes / Signs / The Merleau-Ponty Aesthetics Reader.