The Kantian Roots of Merleau-Ponty's Account of Pathology

Abstract

Abstract:One of the more striking aspects of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception (1945) is his use of psychological case studies in pathology. For Merleau-Ponty, a philosophical interpretation of phenomena like aphasia and psychic blindness promises to shed light not just on the nature of pathology, but on the nature of human existence more generally. In this paper, I show that although Merleau-Ponty is surely a pioneer in this use of pathology, his work is deeply indebted to an earlier philosophical study of pathology offered by the German Neo-Kantian Ernst Cassirer in the third volume of the Philosophy of Symbolic Forms (1929). More specifically, I argue that Merleau-Ponty, in fact, follows Cassirer in placing Kant's notion of the productive imagination at the centre of his account of pathology and the features of existence it illuminates. Recognizing the debt MerleauPonty's account of pathology has to the Kantian tradition not only acts as a corrective to more recent interpretation of Merleau-Ponty's views of pathology (Dreyfus, Romdenh-Romluc), but also recommends we resist the prevailing tendency to treat Merleau-Ponty's philosophy as anti-Kantian.

Beyond Descartes and Newton: Recovering life and humanity

“…This engagement initially was mediated by Ernst Cassirer's study of this work, and in the process, Merleau-Ponty incorporated insights from Kant on the productive imagination (Matherne 2014). Goldstein was looking at what was then called aphasia, the loss of the ability to use words.…”

Merleau-Ponty and the Foundations of Psychopathology

“…Schneider's condition and Merleau-Ponty's analysis have received considerable attention (Dreyfus 2007;Matherne 2014;Romdenh-Romluc 2007). But much of this literature ignores how Merleau-Ponty used this case study as a catalyst and justification for his metaphysical project.…”

Science in Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology

“…Kant's Third Critique in (Kant 2000) is also something of a touchstone for Merleau-Ponty. See Matherne (2014;2016) for discussion of this issue.…”