Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
PhenomenologyofPerceptionWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
PhenomenologyofPerception
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
PhenomenologyofPerception(French:
Phnomnologiedelaperception)isa1945bookby
FrenchphilosopherMauriceMerleauPonty.The
workestablishedMerleauPontyasthepreeminent
philosopherofthebody.FirstpublishedinEnglish
translationin1962,[1]anewEnglishtranslationwas
publishedin2013.[2]
PhenomenologyofPerception
Contents
1Summary
2Scholarlyreception
3References
4Externallinks
Summary
FollowingtheworkofEdmundHusserl,Merleau
Ponty'sprojectistorevealthephenomenological
structureofperception.However,MerleauPonty's
conceptionsofphenomenology,andforthatmatter
thedialectic,donotpreciselyfollowthoseofHusserl
orMartinHeidegger.
MerleauPonty'scentralthesisiswhathelatercalled
the"primacyofperception."Wearefirstperceiving
theworld,thenwedophilosophy.Thisentailsa
critiqueoftheCartesiancogito,resultinginalargely
differentconceptofconsciousness.TheCartesian
dualismofmindandbodyiscalledintoquestionas
ourprimarywayofexistingintheworldandis
ultimatelyrejectedinfavorofanintersubjective
conceptionordialecticalandintentionalconceptof
consciousness.Whatischaracteristicofhisaccountof
perceptionisthecentralitythatthebodyplays.We
perceivetheworldthroughourbodiesweare
embodiedsubjects,involvedinexistence.
TheFrenchedition
Author
MauriceMerleauPonty
Originaltitle Phnomnologiedelaperception
Translator
ColinSmith(1sttranslation)
DonaldLandes(2ndtranslation)
Country
France
Language
French
Subject
Phenomenology
Published
1945(ditionsGallimard,in
French)
1962(Routledge&Kegan
Paul,inEnglish)
2012(Routledge,new
Englishtranslation)
Mediatype
Pages
466(1965Routledgeedition)
ISBN
9780415834339(2012Routledge
edition)
Further,theabilitytoreflectcomesfromapre
reflectivegroundthatservesasthefoundationforreflectingonactions.Inotherwords,weperceive
phenomenafirst,thenreflectonthemviathismediationofperception,whichisinstantaneousand
synonymouswithourbeinginperception,asanoutcomeofourbodyhood,i.e.,embodiment(Gestalt
psychology).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology_of_Perception
1/2
8/11/2015
PhenomenologyofPerceptionWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Hisaccountofthebodyhelpshimunderminewhathadbeenalongstandingconceptionof
consciousness,whichhingesonthedistinctionbetweentheforitself(subject)andinitself(object),
whichplaysacentralroleinSartre'sphilosophy.(OneofhismaintargetswashiscolleagueJeanPaul
Sartre,whoreleasedBeingandNothingnessin1943,shortlybeforethepublicationofPhenomenologyof
Perception.)Thebodystandsbetweenthisfundamentaldistinctionbetweensubjectandobject,
ambiguouslyexistingasboth.[3]
Scholarlyreception
PhenomenologyofPerceptionestablishedMerleauPontyasthepreeminentphilosopherofthebody.
AlongwithMerleauPonty'sotherwritings,ithasfoundamorereceptiveaudienceamonganalytic
philosophersthantheworksofotherphenomenologists.[4]
References
1. MerleauPonty,Maurice.Trans:ColinSmith.PhenomenologyofPerception(London:Routledge&Kegan
Paul,1965)[p.iv]
2. MerleauPonty,Maurice.Trans:DonaldLandes.PhenomenologyofPerception(London:Routledge,2012)
[p.i]
3. MerleauPonty,Maurice.Trans:ColinSmith.PhenomenologyofPerception(London:Routledge,2005)[e.g.
pp.408]
4. Bernasconi,Robert,inTedHonderich'sTheOxfordCompaniontoPhilosophy(Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press,2005)[p.588]
Externallinks
ExcerptscanbefoundatGoogleBooks:MerleauPonty,Maurice.PhenomenologyofPerception
(http://books.google.com/books?
id=tOCZPO6EFQAC&dq=phenomenology+of+perception&source=gbs_navlinks_s).
Thecompletebookisfreelyavailable(https://archive.org/details/phenomenologyofp00merl)at
Archive.org.
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Phenomenology_of_Perception&oldid=651373990"
Categories: 1945books Contemporaryphilosophicalliterature Perception Phenomenology
Philosophybooks Philosophybookstubs
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon14March2015,at19:28.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionalterms
mayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomenology_of_Perception
2/2