Skip to main content
Log in

Merleau-Ponty's Modification of Phenomenology: Cognition, Passion and Philosophy

  • Published:
Synthese Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper problematizes the analogy that Hubert Dreyfus has presented between phenomenology and cognitive science. It argues that Dreyfus presents Merleau-Ponty's modification of Husserl's phenomenology in a misleading way. He ignores the idea of philosophy as a radical interrogation and self-responsibility that stems from Husserl's work and recurs in Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception. The paper focuses on Merleau-Ponty's understanding of the phenomenological reduction. It shows that his critical idea was not to restrict the scope of Husserl's reductions but to study the conditions of possibility for the thetic acts. Merleau-Ponty argued, following Husserl's texts, that the thetic acts rest on the basis of primordial pre-thetic experience. This layer of experience cannot, by its nature, be explicated or clarified, but it can be questioned and unveiled. This is the recurrent task of phenomenological philosophy, as Merleau-Ponty understands it.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Aristotle: 1928, Metaphysics, in W. D. Ross (trans.), The Works of Aristotle, Vol. III, 2nd edn. Clarendon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, P.: 1990, ‘Listening at the Abyss’, in G. A. Johnson and Smith (eds.), Ontology and Alterity in Merleau-Ponty. Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillon, M.C.: 1988, Merleau-Ponty's Ontology. Indiana University Press, Bloomington/ Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dennett, D. C.: 1987, ‘Beyond Belief’, in The Intentional Stance. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Descartes, R.: [1641] 1990, Meditations on First Philosophy, in J. Cottingham (trans.), The Philosophical Writings of Descares, Vol. II. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/ New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Descartes, R.: [1649] 1990, The Passions of the Soul, in R. Stoothoff (trans.), The Philosophical Writings of Descartes, Vol. I. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge/New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus, H. L.: 1979, What Computers Can't Do: The Limits of Artificial Intelligence, 2nd edn. (original 1972). Harper & Row, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus, H. L.: 1984, ‘Introduction’, in H. L. Dreyfus and H. Hall (eds.), Husserl, Intentionality and Cognitive Science. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreyfus, H. L.: 1996, ‘The Current Relevance of Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Embodiment’, The Electronic Journal of Analytic Philosophy 4.

  • Dreyfus, H. L. and P. Rabinow: 1983, Michel Foucault: Beyond Structuralism and Hermeneutics, 2nd edn. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fink, E.: 1933, ‘Die phänomenologische Philosophie Edmund Husserls in der gegenwärtigen Kritik’, Kant-Studien Band XXXVIII (3/4), 229–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fink, E.: 1988, VI. Cartesianische Meditation, Teil 1: Die Idee einer Transzendentalen Methodlehre, Ergänzungsband, Husserliana, Dokumente, Band II/1, H. Ebeling, J. Holl and G. van Kerckhoven (eds.). Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fink, E.: 1995, Sixth Cartesian Meditation: The Idea of a Transcendental Theory of Method, R. Bruzina (trans.). Indiana University Press, Bloomington/Indianapolis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J.: 1975, The Language of Thought. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J.: 1990, A Theory of Content and Other Essays. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodor, J. A. and Z. W. Phylyshyn: 1989, ‘Connectionism and Cognitive Architecture: A Critical Analysis’, in S. Pinker and J. Mehler (eds.), Connections and Symbols. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haaparanta, L.: 1994, ‘Intentionality, Intuition and the Computational Theory of the Mind’, in L. Haaparanta (ed.), Mind, Meaning and Mathematics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haugeland, J.: 1985, Artificial Intelligence: The Very Idea. A Bradford Book: MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haugeland, J.: 1995, ‘Mind Embodied and Embedded’, in L. Haaparanta and S. Heinämaa. (eds.), Mind and Cognition: Philosophical Perspectives on Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence, Acta Philosophica Fennica 58.

  • Heinämaa, S.: 1996, Ele, tyyli ja sukupuoli: Merleau-Pontyn ja Beauvoirin ruumiinfenomenologia ja sen merkitys sukupuolikysymykselle. Gaudeamus, Helsinki.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinämaa, S.: 1998: ‘Philosophy – Love and Wonder’ (unpublished manuscript).

  • Heinämaa, S.: 1999a, ‘Wonder and (Sexual) Difference: Cartesian Radicalism in Phenomenological Thinking’, in T. Aho and M. Yrjönsuuri (eds.), Norms and Modes of Thinking in Descartes, Acta Philosophica Fennica 66.

  • Heinämaa, S. and J. Oksala: 1999b, ‘Philosophical Practice of Thinking: Between Foucault and Husserl’ (unpublished manuscript).

  • Himanka, J.: 1999a, ‘Before and After Reduction: An Interpretation of the Initial Opposition of Husserlian Phenomenology’, Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology (forthcoming).

  • Himanka, J.: 1999b, ‘Reduction in Concreto: Two Readings of the Idea of Phenomenology’, in Recherches Husserliennes (forthcoming).

  • Husserl, E.: 1913, Ideen zu einer reinen Phänomenologie und phänomenologischen Philosophie, Erstes Buch: Allgemeine Einführung in die reine Phänomenologie, Husserliana, Band III, W. Biemel (ed.). Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: [1913] 1962, Ideas: General Introduction to Pure Phenomenology, W. R. Boyce Gibson (trans.). Collier, New York/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E.: [1931] 1952, ‘Nachwort’, in M. Biemel (ed.), Ideen zu einer reinen Phänomenologie und phänomenologischen Philosophie, Drittes Buch: Die Phänomenologie und die Fundamente der Wissenschaften, Husserliana, Band V. Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: [1931] 1989, ‘Epilogue’, in R. Rojcewicz and A. Schuwer (trans.), Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and to a Phenomenological Philosophy, Second Book: Studies in the Phenomenology of Constitution. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E.: [1935] 1954: ‘Die Krisis des europäischen Menschentums und die Philosophie’, in W. Biemel (ed.), Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale Phänomenologie: Eine Einleitung in die phänomenologische Philosophie, Husserliana, Band VI. Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: [1935] 1988: ‘The Vienna Lecture: Philosophy and the Crisis of European Humanity’, in D. Carr (trans.), The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy. Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E.: 1950, Cartesianische Meditationen und Pariser Vorträge, Husserliana, Band I, S. Strasser (ed.). Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: [1950] 1960, Cartesian Meditations, D. Cairns (trans.). Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht.

  • Husserl, E.: [1952] 1993, Ideas Pertaining to a Pure Phenomenology and to a Phenomenological Philosophy, Second Book: Studies in the Phenomenology of Constitution, R. Rojcewicz and A. Schuwer (trans.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E.: 1954, Die Krisis der europäischen Wissenschaften und die transzendentale Phänomenologie: Eine Einleitung in die phänomenologische Philosophie, Husserliana, Band VI, W. Biemel (ed.). Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: [1954] 1988, The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy, D. Carr (trans.). Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husserl, E.: 1973: Ding und Raum, Vorlesungen 1907, Husserliana, Band XVI, U. Claesges (ed.). Martinus Nijhoff, Haag.

  • Husserl, E.: 1988, Vorlesungen über Ethik und Wertlehre 1908–1914, Husserliana, Band XXVIII, U. Melle (ed.). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenkowski, W. J.: 1978, ‘What is Husserl's Epoché: The Problem of the Beginning of Philosophy in a Husserlian Context’, Man and World XI, 299–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lévinas, E.: [1961] 1971, Totalité et Infini: Essai sur l'Extériorité. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • McIntyre, R.: [1986] 1990, ‘Husserl and the Representational Theory of the Mind’, in J.-C. Smith (ed.), Historical Foundations of Cognitive Science. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M.: 1945, Phénoménologie de la Perception. Gallimard, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M.: [1945] 1995, Phenomenology of Perception, C. Smith (trans.). Routledge & Kegan Paul, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M.: [1960] 1964, Signs, R. C.McClearly (trans.). Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M.: 1964, Le Visible et l'Invisible, C. Lefort (ed.). Gallimard, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merleau-Ponty, M.: [1964] 1975, The Visible and the Invisible, C. Lefort (ed.), A. Linguis, (trans.). Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M.: 1979, ‘The Speech of Alcibiades: A Reading of Plato's Symposium’, Philosophy and Literature 3, 131–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plato 1953: Symposium, in B. Jowett (trans.) The Dialogues of Plato, Vol. I, 4th edn. Claredon Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ricouer, P.: [1957] 1967: ‘Existential Phenomenology’, in E. G. Ballard and L. E. Embree (trans.), Husserl: An Analysis of His Phenomenology. Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sallis, J.: 1973, Phenomenology and the Return to Beginnings. Duquesne University Press, Pittsburgh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinbock, A. J.: 1995, Home and Beyond: Generative Phenomenology after Husserl. Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varela, F. J., E. Thompson and E. Rosch: 1991, The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldenfels, B.: 1993, ‘Interrogative Thinking: Reflections on Merleau-Ponty's Later Philosophy’, in P. Burke and J. van der Veken (eds.), Merleau-Ponty in Contemporary Perspectives. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldenfels, B.: 1994, Antwortregister. Shurkamp, Franfurt am Main.

  • Winograd, T. and F. Flores: 1986, Understanding Computers and Cognition: A New Foundation for Design. Ablex Publishing, Norwood, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wrathall, M. and S. Kelly: 1996, ‘Existential Phenomenolohy and Cognitive Science’, The Electronic Journal of Analytic Philosophy 4.

  • Zahavi, D.: 1994, ‘Husserl's Phenomenology of the Body’, Études Phénoménologiques 19, 63–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi, D.: 1996a, Husserl und die transzendentale Intersubjektivität: Eine Antwort auf die sprachpragmatische Kritik. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi, D.: 1996b: ‘Husserl's Intersubjective Transformation of Transcendental Philosophy’, Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 27, 228–244.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zahavi, D.: 1998: ‘Self-Awareness and Affection’, in N. Depraz and D. Zahavi (eds.), Alterity and Facticity: New Perspectives on Husserl. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Heinämaa, S. Merleau-Ponty's Modification of Phenomenology: Cognition, Passion and Philosophy. Synthese 118, 49–68 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005140809802

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005140809802

Keywords

Navigation