Maurice Merleau-Ponty And Aesthetics: On Perception, Art, And Embodied Existence

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Authors
Peliska, Taylor
Advisor
Elvira Roncalli
Jeremy Johnson
Edward Glowienka
Editor
Date of Issue
2014-04-01
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Citation
Series/Report No.
item.page.identifier
Title
Maurice Merleau-Ponty And Aesthetics: On Perception, Art, And Embodied Existence
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Type
thesis
Description
Abstract
French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty is one of the 20th century’s greatest phenomenological thinkers. Merleau-Ponty’s main philosophical concern is understanding how humans experience and perceive the world around them. He grounds his thought in phenomenological inquiry and existential ontology, providing a rich understanding of what it means to be a human living in the world. In his examination of human situation in the world, Merleau-Ponty draws from art, in particular the work of French painter, Paul Cézanne, in outlining a theory of aesthetics that brings to light our being in the world as an embodied individual who is immersed in it, not outside of it. In my paper, I explore the various implications of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, arguing that his aesthetic theory is not simply ancillary to his general perspective, but instead unveils a new way of understanding what it means to be human living and existing in the world.
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Degree Awarded
Bachelor's
Semester
Spring
Department
Philosophy