The Philosophy of Merleau-Ponty

InthisclearandcomprehensiveaccountofMerleau-Ponty'sthoughtEricMatthewsshowshowMerleau-Pontyhascontributedtocurrentdebatesinphilosophy,suchasthenatureofconsciousness,therelationbetweenbiologyandpersonality,thehistoricalunderstandingofhumanthoughtandsociety,andmanyothers.SurveyingthewholerangeofMerleau-Ponty'sthinking,Matthewsexamineshisviewsaboutthenatureofphenomenologyandtheprimacyofperception;hisaccountofhumanembodiment,being-in-the-world,andtheunderstandingofhumanbehaviour;hisconceptionoftheselfanditsrelationtootherselves;andhisviewsonsociety,politics,andthearts.Afinalchapterconsidershislaterthought,publishedposthumously.TheideasofMerleau-PontyareofimmenselyimportanttothedevelopmentofmodernFrenchphilosophy.Matthewsevaluateshisdistinctivecontributionsandrelateshisthoughttothatofhispredecessors,contemporaries,andsuccessors,bothinFranceandelsewhere.Thisunrivalledintroductionwillbewelcomedbyanalyticphilosophersandcognitivescientistsaswellasallstudentstakingcoursesincontemporarycontinentalphilosophy.