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Merleau-Ponty’s Perception Theory and Its Dissipation to Consciousness Philosophy

Author: JiXiaoFeng
Tutor: PanDeRong
School: East China Normal University
Course: Foreign Philosophy
Keywords: Merleau-Ponty phenomenology perception body consciousness philosophy
CLC: B842.2
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2006
Downloads: 229
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Abstract

This paper is concerning the Perception Theory of Merleau Ponty. Following the interpretation of body-subject and it’s projection of meaning, this paper explains how the traditional consciousness representation is replaced- by the expression of body which is the mingling of subject-object, psycho-physical in Phenomenology of Perception. Perception, being a distinguishing style of consciousness, is our primitive contact with the world. As a subjective existence, perception is quite different from pure consciousness, and takes root in our bodies and situations. The body’s perception is always the perception to something in the outside world. As a result, the world is not separated from body’s perception, while the body’s perception cannot act as consciousness that can cover the world thoroughly in the perspective of ideas. It implies that the body,as the subject of perception, run out of our actual living surroundings through expression activities thrown into the world and "transformational synthesis".Such is the primitive emergence of the world and the formation of meaning. Subject is not pure consciousness. Instead, it refers to our bodies that can feel, think and take action. The world is not the objective target as well. Instead, it appears as various sketches changing with our perspectives and remains unaccomplished forever. Body, as "the subject thrown into the world", is the core of meaning formation and variation. Besides, it cannot be reduced. The taciturn body priors to all representations of consciousness and the primitive meanings are manifested in "the absolute clear proof.The body,as the subject of perception, is "substance which can think",and so it is "subject-object".The body which can perceive removes a strait of "either this or that" choice concerning "materialism or idealism" and "idealism or realism" in the history of philosophy. When the pure consciousness returns to body perception, we return to perception world from objective world, which entangles with us originally. Thus,other important categories in philosophy, such as objects and natural world, time, anothers and language may take on their primitive and vivid looks in the perception world.The concern of body’s expression activities is not knowledge, but the most fundamental living phenomena of human beings. The body’s perception is a kind of "Non-thinking", but possesses the form of Intentionality of consciousness as well. In essence, dissipating the consciousness philosophy, perceptions tend to remove the objective inclination of consciousness and disclose the dialectical nature of "negation of negation" deeply implied in consciousness itself. Theories concerning perceptions aim at breaking the belief of objective thinking in traditional philosophy, through which "objects may be reinstated to their concrete appearances, and organism may be reinstated with their intrinsic styles towards the world". The perception theory rejects interpretation or explanation based on epistemology and adopts absolutely perceptual description instead. Therefore, it follows the Phenomenology principle of "go back to things themselves " with radical empiricism methods.

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