Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty (14 March 1908 – 3 May 1961) was a French phenomenological philosopher, strongly influenced by Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. The constitution of meaning in human experience was his main interest and he wrote on perception, art, politics, religion, biology, psychology, psychoanalysis, language, nature, and history. He was the lead editor of Les Temps modernes, the leftist magazine he established with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir in 1945.
At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is a sustained argument for the foundational role that perception plays in the human experience of the world. Merleau-Ponty understands perception to be an ongoing dialogue between one's lived body and the world which it perceives, in which perceivers passively and actively strive to express the perceived world in concert with others. He was the only major phenomenologist of the first half of the twentieth century to engage extensively with the sciences and especially with Gestalt psychology. It is through this engagement that his writings became influential in the project of naturalizing phenomenology, in which phenomenologists use the results of psychology and cognitive science.
Merleau-Ponty emphasized the body as the primary site of knowing the world, a corrective to the long philosophical tradition of placing consciousness as the source of knowledge, and maintained that the body and that which it perceived could not be disentangled from each other. The articulation of the primacy of embodiment (corporéité) led him away from phenomenology towards what he was to call “indirect ontology” or the ontology of “the flesh of the world” (la chair du monde), seen in his final and incomplete work, The Visible and Invisible, and his last published essay, “Eye and Mind”.
Merleau-Ponty engaged with Marxism throughout his career. His 1947 book, Humanism and Terror, has been widely misunderstood as a defence of the Soviet farce trials. In fact, this text avoids the definitive endorsement of a view on the Soviet Union, but instead engages with the Marxist theory of history as a critique of liberalism, in order to reveal an unresolved antinomy in modern politics, between humanism and terror: if human values can only be achieved through violent force, and if liberal ideas hide illiberal realities, how is just political action to be decided? Merleau-Ponty maintained an engaged though critical relationship to the Marxist left until the end of his life, particularly during his time as the political editor of the journal Les Temps modernes.
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Some of their strengths
Maurice Merleau-Ponty has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Intelligent, Kind, Bold, Confident, Energetic, Extroverted, and Passionate.
Soulful and Understanding
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Maurice Merleau-Ponty is someone who is a soulful, understanding, and conscious person, who combines smarts with a deep talent for creativity and imagination. A person who is known for being fun and creative.
Constant and Serious
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Maurice Merleau-Ponty well know them as someone who can be determined, unmoving, and firm, like a rock or a high mountain.
Courteous and Easygoing
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Maurice Merleau-Ponty as someone who is polite, modest, and diplomatic.
A person who tends to be socially popular, who loves intellectual or creative activities, who has a talent for communicating with and understanding the needs of others, and who seems to have a knack for getting recognized for their efforts.
Altruistic and Ambitious
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Maurice Merleau-Ponty is someone who is the type of person who rallies behind a group, cause, or community, and who enjoys being dedicated to a higher cause of some sort.
They are also someone who is balanced, organized, and in-charge, and who loves traveling, working hard, and figuring out the patterns of things.
Creative and Imaginative
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Maurice Merleau-Ponty tends to be someone who is sensitive, imaginative, creative, and somewhat of a dreamer. Who is intuitive and compassionate, and who has a friendly, easygoing, calming and relaxing effect on people and for whom friends and family mean the world.
Some of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's challenges
While Maurice Merleau-Ponty has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Maurice Merleau-Ponty can be Indecisive, Arrogant, Unrealistic, Status-seeking, Complicated, Brusque, and Materialistic.
Indecisive and Unrealistic
One of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as indecisive and unrealistic.
Maurice Merleau-Ponty must also exercise caution as they can have difficulty dealing with responsibility, authority, or criticism.
Indecisive and Materialistic
Maurice Merleau-Ponty is someone who can be indecisive, indulgent, and materialistic, who can have difficulty focusing on a single career or profession, have difficulty following orders or respecting authority, and who can suffer from "analysis paralysis".
Lethargic and Unrealistic
Finally, Maurice Merleau-Ponty also can be too soft, lazy and lethargic, and who can have difficulty finding others who share a similarly dreamy outlook on life.
