World of Perception (Kindle Edition)

by Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘In just over a hundred pages, this elegant volume present the reader with the text of seven talks...In addition, the lectures are preceded by an informative Foreword by Stéphanie Ménasé and by an excellent as well as accessible Introduction by Prof. Thomas Baldwin.’ Mentalhelp.net

‘In just over a hundred pages, this elegant volume present the reader with the text of seven talks...In addition, the lectures are preceded by an informative Foreword by Stéphanie Ménasé and by an excellent as well as accessible Introduction by Prof. Thomas Baldwin.’ Mentalhelp.net

Product Description

"Painting does not imitate the world, but is a world of its own."

In 1948, Maurice Merleau-Ponty wrote and delivered on French radio a series of seven lectures on the theme of perception. Translated here into English for the first time, they offer a lucid and concise insight into one of the great philosophical minds of the twentieth-century.

The lectures explore themes central not only to Merleau-Ponty's philosophy but to phenomenology as a whole. He begins by rejecting the idea - inherited from Descartes and influential within science - that perception is unreliable, prone to distort the world around us. Merleau-Ponty instead argues that perception is inseparable from our senses and it is how we make sense of the world.

Merleau-Ponty explores this guiding theme through a brilliant series of reflections on science, space, our relationships with others, animal life and art. Throughout, he argues that perception is never something learned and then applied to the world. As creatures with embodied minds, he reminds us that we are born perceiving and share with other animals and infants a state of constant, raw, unpredictable contact with the world. He provides vivid examples with the help of Kafka, animal behavior and above all modern art, particularly the work of Cezanne.

A thought-provoking and crystalline exploration of consciousness and the senses, The World of Perception is essential reading for anyone interested in the work of Merleau-Ponty, twentieth-century philosophy and art.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 198 KB
• Print Length: 144 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 4 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (March 16, 2007)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000OI15ZW
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #20,807 in Kindle Store (See Bestsellers in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, an effective way to introduce Merleau-Ponty , January 28, 2005

By	Glen A. Mazis (glenmazis.com) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The World of Perception (Hardcover)

As a scholar whose intellectual life has been continually guided and inspired by the work of Merleau-Ponty for three and a half decades, I am overjoyed by the translation and publication of these seven radio lectures given by Merleau-Ponty in France in 1948. For the serious scholar, these are beautifully written and elegant statements about the heart of Merleau-Ponty's project to shift the ground of philosophy and phenomenology by diving into the depth of the perceptual world and turning to art as a touchstone for a reawakened perceptual experience. However, for the beginning philosophy student, they are wonderfully clear, engaging, and immediately comprehensible. For many of us, it has been frustrating that for the introductory student, much of Merleau-Ponty's oeuvre is intimidating or calls for a greater investment of concentration than many students are willing to make. This book is the perfect solution: it is brief, clear, and inviting. The perfect introduction... I can't recommend it highly enough! ... A sheer delight, as well as subtle, nuanced and evocative!