Merleau-Ponty and Contemporary Philosophy

Assesses the importance of Merleau-Ponty to current and ongoing concerns in contemporary philosophy. Maurice Merleau-Ponty is widely recognized as one of the major figures of twentieth-century philosophy. The recent publication of his lecture courses and posthumous working notes has opened new avenues for both the interpretation of his thought and philosophy in general. These works confirm that, with a surprising premonition, Merleau-Ponty addressed many of the issues that concern philosophy today. With the benefit of this fuller picture of his thought, Merleau-Ponty and Contemporary Philosophy undertakes an assessment of the philosopher’s relevance for contemporary thinking. Covering a diverse range of topics, including ontology, epistemology, anthropology, embodiment, animality, politics, language, aesthetics, and art, the editors gather representative voices from North America and Europe, including both Merleau-Ponty specialists and thinkers who have come to the philosopher’s work through their own thematic interest. Emmanuel Alloa is Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. His books include Resistance of the Sensible World: An Introduction to Merleau-Ponty. Frank Chouraqui is Assistant Professor of Contemporary Continental Philosophy at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. His books include Ambiguity and the Absolute: Nietzsche and Merleau-Ponty on the Question of Truth. Rajiv Kaushik is Professor of Philosophy at Brock University, Canada. His books include Merleau-Ponty between Philosophy and Symbolism: The Matrixed Ontology, also published by SUNY Press.