Some of the best interpretations and evaluations of Merleau-Ponty's innovative notions of chiasm and flesh are presented here by prominent scholars from the United States and Europe. Divided into three sections, the book first establishes the notion of the flesh as a consistent concept and unfolds the nuances of flesh that make it a compelling idea. The second section adds to the force of this idea by showing how flesh can be extended to phenomena that Merleau-Ponty was not able to treat, such as the internet and virtual reality, and the third offers criticisms of Merleau-Ponty from feminist and Levinasian points of view. All the essays attest to the fecundity of Merleau-Ponty's later thought for such central philosophical issues as the bonds between self, others, and the world.
Leonard Lawlor received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Stony Brook University in 1988. Until 2008, he was Faudree Hardin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. Lawlor is currently Sparks Professor of Philosophy at Penn State University.
Lawlor is co-founder and co-editor of Chiasmi International: Trilingual Studies Concerning the Thought of Merleau-Ponty. He has translated books by Merleau-Ponty and Jean Hyppolite into English.
Lawlor has completed a new English translation of Jacques Derrida's La voix et le phenomene, which is in production at Northwestern University Press. He has also completed a new book called Early Twentieth Century Continental Philosophy, which is in production at Indiana University Press.
