First published in 1945, Maurice Merleau-Ponty's monumental
Phénoménologie de la perception signalled the arrival of a major new
philosophical and intellectual voice in post-war Europe. Breaking with
the prevailing picture of existentialism and phenomenology at the time,
it has become one of the landmark works of twentieth-century thought.
This new translation, the first for over fifty years, makes this classic
work of philosophy available to a new generation of readers.
Phenomenology of Perception stands in the great phenomenological
tradition of Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. Yet Merleau-Ponty's
contribution is decisive, as he brings this tradition and other
philosophical predecessors, particularly Descartes and Kant, to confront
a neglected dimension of our experience: the lived body and the
phenomenal world. Charting a bold course between the reductionism of
science on the one hand and intellectualism on the other, Merleau-Ponty
argues that we should regard the body not as a mere biological or
physical unit, but as the body which structures one's situation and
experience within the world.
Merleau-Ponty enriches his classic work with engaging studies of famous
cases in the history of psychology and neurology as well as phenomena
that continue to draw our attention, such as phantom limb syndrome,
synaesthesia, and hallucination. This new translation includes many
helpful features such as the reintroduction of Merleau-Ponty's
discursive Table of Contents as subtitles into the body of the text, a
comprehensive Translator's Introduction to its main themes, essential
notes explaining key terms of translation, an extensive Index, and an
important updating of Merleau-Ponty's references to now available
English translations.
Also included is a new foreword by Taylor Carman and an introduction to
Merleau-Ponty by Claude Lefort.
Translated by Donald A. Landes.
