Philosophy: Maurice Merleau-Ponty and the Phenomenology of Perception

As part of our very popular Lunchtime Philosophy series, this term we will be looking at the work of the twentieth-century French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty who was strongly influenced by Martin Heidegger.

At the core of Merleau-Ponty's philosophy was a sustained argument for the foundational role that perception plays in the human experience of the world. 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. According to Merleau-Ponty, the perceiving body and its perceived world could not be disentangled from each other.

During this lunch-hour course, we will join Greg Artus who will make Maurice Merleau-Ponty's sometimes difficult work accessible to the layperson. There will be plenty of scope for discussion, as well as hearing from Greg about Merleau-Ponty's ideas and how they evolved over his lifetime.

You do not need any previous philosophical experience or knowledge and this course will be of interest to those new to philosophy as well as to those with some previous experience.

Class recordings

These classes are not recorded.

Imperial certificates

There are no examinations or assessments for this course. However, attendance can lead to the award of an Imperial attendance certificate (T&Cs apply).