Sartre
Douglas Low
September 8, 2017 DOI: 10.4324/9781315124407-13 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Merleau-Ponty develops a philosophy in which the social is significant and understandable from within, and personal intentions are generalized and mediated by things, in contrast to Sartre's philosophy of consciousness. The chapter proposes that Merleau-Ponty seeks to comprehend how subject and society cross into one another, and closes by placing his work in relief against Michel Foucault's. |
Abstract
Merleau-Ponty’s works were associated with Sartre’s philosophy of consciousness and supposedly surpassed, surpassed by philosophies of structure, philosophies that place individual consciousness within a social whole that molds and structures it, rather than have the social whole projected or constituted by the isolated individual, as appears in Sartre’s philosophy. The social, Merleau-Ponty says, “is significant, capable of being understood from within, and at the same time personal intentions within it are generalized, toned down, and tend toward processes, being mediated by things”. Merleau-Ponty clearly seeks to develop a philosophy and mode of analysis that seeks to comprehend how the subject and society cross into one another. Merleau-Ponty proceeds to make similar claims about human action. This chapter concludes, it will be useful to place Merleau-Ponty’s works in relief by briefly considering the works of Michel Foucault.