Phil 492: Merleau-Ponty on the Body Schema

Summary

In this philosophical discussion, the focus is on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's conception of the body and its role in our perception of the world. Merleau-Ponty builds upon Husserl's ideas, emphasizing the body as the generator of our pre-theoretical sense of the world. He introduces the concept of 'body schema,' which is not just an explicit representation of our body but also its set of possible movements. This schema is an implicit intentional art that gives meaning to our surroundings, suggesting that our interaction with the world is not just cognitive but also deeply embodied, with the body schema correlating the world's possibilities with our potential actions.

Takeaways

• 📚 The discussion continues on Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception, focusing on his conception of the body.
• 🧠 Merleau-Ponty builds upon Husserl's thoughts on embodiment, extending the ideas into new directions.
• 🌐 Postural phenomenology is a method for reflecting on experience and understanding how our sense of the world is constituted.
• 👤 Merleau-Ponty emphasizes that our pre-theoretical sense of the world is generated by the body before any scientific or theoretical understanding.
• 🚀 The body is not just a means of knowing the world but also a way of interacting with it through movement and action.
• 🤔 There's a distinction between 'knowing that' (factual knowledge) and 'knowing how' (procedural knowledge), with the latter being more fundamental.
• 🚴‍♂️ Knowing how to do something, like riding a bike, is an example of pre-theoretical familiarity that doesn't require factual knowledge.
• 🎵 The world 'calls out' for our interaction, similar to how a melody calls for resolution, through our bodily movements.
• 🤸‍♀️ The body schema, as described by Merleau-Ponty, is an implicit structure that gives meaning to our surroundings and includes possible movements.
• 🌌 The body schema is not just an explicit representation but also an implicit horizon of possibilities for the body's movements.
• 🔄 Movement is key to bringing the implicit possibilities of our experience into explicit representation, correlating with the world's horizon.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the discussion in the provided transcript?

The main focus of the discussion is Maurice Merleau-Ponty's conception of the body, particularly his ideas on postural phenomenology and how the body generates our pre-theoretic sense of the world.

How does Merleau-Ponty extend Husserl's thoughts on embodiment?

Merleau-Ponty extends Husserl's thoughts by focusing on how the world is related to our body and how our bodily experiences are not just about what we know but also about what we know how to do.

What is the difference between 'knowing that' and 'knowing how' as discussed in the transcript?

In the transcript, 'knowing that' refers to knowledge of facts or truths, whereas 'knowing how' refers to the practical knowledge of how to perform an action, such as riding a bike, which is often gained through experience rather than factual information.

What is the role of the body in our pre-theoretic familiarity with the world according to Merleau-Ponty?

According to Merleau-Ponty, the body plays a crucial role in our pre-theoretic familiarity with the world by generating our sense of the world through movement and interaction, rather than just through cognitive understanding.

What is the concept of 'body schema' as introduced by Merleau-Ponty?

The 'body schema' is an implicit intentional structure that organizes our experience of our surroundings and our bodily movements, representing not just the body as an object but also its set of possible movements and interactions.

How does the body schema relate to the implicit and explicit content of our experience?

The body schema is an implicit horizon that allows our surroundings to have a sense, going beyond the explicit representation of our body as an object. It includes the set of possible movements that correspond to the implicit horizon of the world.

What is the significance of the 'horizon of the body' in Merleau-Ponty's philosophy?

The 'horizon of the body' signifies the set of possible bodily movements that correspond with the implicit horizon of the world, suggesting that our bodily movements are constantly correlated with the possibilities presented by our environment.

How does Merleau-Ponty describe our bodily being in the world?

Merleau-Ponty describes our bodily being in the world as an existence where the world calls out for our movements, similar to how a melody calls out for its resolution, indicating an inherent interaction between our body and the world.

What is the distinction between the 'lived body' and the 'physical body' as mentioned in the transcript?

The 'lived body' refers to the experiential and subjective aspect of our embodiment, focusing on our lived experiences and actions, whereas the 'physical body' is the objective, material aspect of our body as a physical entity in the world.

How does the concept of the horizon relate to our experience of objects like a coffee mug?

The concept of the horizon in our experience of objects like a coffee mug refers to the implicit understanding that there is more to the object than what is currently in our explicit view, such as the backside of the mug, which is part of our experience even though we are not directly looking at it.

What does Merleau-Ponty suggest about the relationship between the body and the world?

Merleau-Ponty suggests that the body is not just a passive object in the world but an active participant that shapes our experience and interaction with the world through its movements and the pre-theoretic sense it generates.