The World of Perception by Merleau-Ponty - Lecture 2: Space

How do we actually experience the world—before concepts, theories, or abstractions step in? In this hourlong meetup, we’ll explore the phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, one of the most influential philosophers of perception, embodiment, and lived experience.

Together, we’ll watch each of Merleau-Ponty’s public lectures and use them as a springboard for discussion. His work challenges the idea that perception is merely a mental representation of an external world, instead emphasizing the body as our primary way of being in and understanding the world. Perception, for Merleau-Ponty, is not something we have—it is something we are doing, moment by moment.

In Lecture 2, Merleau-Ponty discusses space. He uses art as a vehicle, touching on Cezanne, classical art, and Cubism. This foreshadows a later lecture, which is exclusively focused on this topic.

One of Merleau-Ponty’s most seminal works was Phenomenology of Perception. These lectures provide a public introduction to this highly influential work of phenomenology.

No prior background is required. The emphasis will be on shared inquiry, careful listening, and reflecting on how Merleau-Ponty’s ideas resonate with our own everyday perception. This may be of particular interest if you have read and are interested in other phenomenologists, especially Husserl but also Heidegger, Jaspers, etc.

For each session, please read the notes for that lecture ahead of time, and if inspired, pick a passage that you would like to read aloud and discuss in the group. We will listen to Merleau-Ponty’s lecture and then do the live-read and discussion. Here’s the text:

http://timothyquigley.net/cont/mp-wp.pdf

These lecture and discussion sessions should give us some good grounding for when Philip returns in mid-March, when we will resume discussing two books related to the phenomenology of emotion and heavily influenced by Merleau-Ponty. Namely, Turning Emotion Inside Out: Affective Life Beyond the Subject by Ed Casey, and the Routledge Philosophy Guidebook to Merleau-Ponty and Phenomenology of Perception by Komarine Romdenh-Romluc.