The Thinking of the Sensible: Merleau-Ponty's A-Philosophy (Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy)

In this first English publication of a well-known and widely respected Italian scholar, readers will encounter the preeminent interpreter of the works of Maurice Merleau-Ponty engaged in a dialogue of critical concern to contemporary philosophy. In subtle and sensitive language eminently suited to the style and substance of Merleau-Ponty's own writings, Mauro Carbone fashions four essays around a central theme-the relations of the sensible and the intelligible, and of philosophy and non-philosophy-that occupied Merleau-Ponty in his later work. An original and innovative interpretation of the ontology of Merleau-Ponty--and themselves a significant contribution to the field of Continental thought--these essays constitute a sustained exploration of what Merleau-Ponty detected, and greeted, as a "mutation within the relations of man and Being," which would provide him with the basis for a new idea of philosophy or "a-philosophy." In lucid, often elegant terms, Carbone analyzes key elements of Merleau-Ponty's thought in relation to Proust's Recherche, Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, the new biology of Von Uexküll, Rimbaud's Lettre du voyant, and Heidegger's conception of "letting-be." His work clearly demonstrates the vitality of Merleau-Ponty's late revolutionary philosophy by following its most salient, previously unexplored paths. This is essential reading for any scholar with an interest in Merleau-Ponty, in the questions of embodiment, temporality and Nature, or in the possibility of philosophy today.

In his later work, Merleau-Ponty searched Hegel, Husserl, Heidegger, Proust Rimbaud, and even von UexkÃ1⁄4ll's new biology for that which is not contrary to the sensible but is, as he wrote, its lining and its depth. Carbone (State U. of Milan, Italy) continues this search among the tantalizing fragments Merleau-Ponty left behind in four essays, including a glimpse into Merleau-Ponty's last thoughts about phenomenology, ontology and the nature of a-philosophy. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Contents......Page 3 Abbreviations......Page 5 Preface......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 13 The Time of Half-Sleep: Merleau-Ponty between Husserl and Proust......Page 17 Ad Limina Philosophiae......Page 30 Nature: Variations on the Theme......Page 44 The Thinking of the Sensible......Page 55 Notes......Page 65 Selected Bibliography......Page 91 Index......Page 103 About the Author......Page 111 The Time Of Half-sleep : Merleau-ponty Between Husserl And Proust -- Ad Limina Philosophiae : Merleau-ponty And The Introduction To Hegel's Phenomenology Of Spirit -- Nature : Variations On The Theme -- The Thinking Of The Sensible. Mauro Carbone. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 75-86) And Index.