maurice Merleau-pontyquotes

1908 - 1961

Photograph of Maurice Merleau-PontyMaurice Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961), French philosopher and professor, described his life as having two distinct phases. The first phase was his effort to restore the world of perception, so that the body was no longer viewed as merely an object or material entity. He illustrated his point in Phenomenology of Perception, which is considered one of his greatest contributions to technical philosophy. Perception, Merleau-Ponty claims, is not passive but a “creative receptivity.”

The second phase, as Merleau-Ponty stated, was an attempt to show that communication with others goes far beyond the realm of perception. He found empiricism and rationalism unsatisfactory philosophical traditions to describe his views on perception though, so he turned, for a time, toward social and political topics. He published numerous Marxists essays (Humanism and Terror) in defense of soviet communism.

After the Korean War however, his strong stance faltered and he viewed Marxism no longer as the final word, but simply as a model for understanding oneself and history. His disillusionment with Marxism led to a falling out with long-time friend, Jean-Paul Sartre.

As Merleau-Ponty was heavily influenced by both Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, he is often associated with the Existentialist movement, even though his later philosophies seem to take a turn from that theory. While not one of the most acclaimed philosophers of his day, Merleau-Ponty is considered a relevant and valuable resource to European philosophy, and his arguments are being given more attention now, especially within the cognitive sciences and medical ethics spheres of study.

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