The Being of the Phenomenon Merleau-Ponty's Ontology

Renaud Barbaras's,De l'être du phénomène: l'ontologie de Merleau-Ponty, published in 1991, is considered the most powerful and complete elaboration of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's thought to appear in recent years. Almost single-handedly, Barbaras has been responsible for reviving current interest in Merleau-Ponty's works. In the first English translation of this important and influential work, Ted Toadvine and Leonard Lawlor present Barbaras's rich and profound analysis of the history of Merleau-Ponty's philosophical development, from thePhenomenology of PerceptiontoThe Visible and the Invisible. Toadvine and Lawlor's translation communicates the subtle thought of this important and influential work with accuracy and elegance. A translators' introduction situates Barbaras in the philosophical debate and develops his guiding insights into Merleau-Ponty's thought.The Being of the Phenomenonis certain to inspire new interpretations of Merleau-Pontian phenomenology and open European post-structuralist thought to further study.