Essays of the World

Author: Merleau-Ponty Yang Da Chun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The Prose of the World particularly explores general linguistic issues, expressive issues, communication and dialogue issues, and formalization issues in literature, art, and science, representing his critical and reflective thoughts on painting, literature, and science. As a representative work of the phenomenological linguistic turn, The Prose of the World holds significant theoretical importance, providing an important reference text for examining the transition from phenomenology to structural-poststructuralism and the role of Merleau-Ponty in this process. Therefore, the book is of great reference value for scholars in the fields of philosophy, linguistics, literary theory, and criticism. Perhaps due to his greater focus on The Visible and the Invisible, Merleau-Ponty intentionally abandoned the writing of The Prose of the World. Of course, this does not mean he discarded the ideas within it. The actual situation may be that some of the core ideas of the book were incorporated into the ontological framework, rendering The Prose of the World redundant and thus set aside. However, the independent status of The Prose of the World cannot be denied; it examines truth and reality from the perspective of the relationship between "culture and perception" (or "society and perception"), while The Visible and the Invisible focuses on the relationship between "nature and perception." Together, they advance the phenomenological study of "perception," but a clear tension emerges between "nature and culture." This is also a theme explored by Lévi-Strauss's structural anthropology, highlighting the shared theoretical interests between Merleau-Ponty and Lévi-Strauss. A Rousseau-esque pastoral dream and mystical consciousness lead Merleau-Ponty to return from culture to nature (of course, a spiritualized nature, the flesh of the world, and thus fused with culture and consciousness). This may be one reason why The Visible and the Invisible appears more important. It is still important to note that from Phenomenology of Perception to The Prose of the World and then to The Visible and the Invisible, Merleau-Ponty's overall approach remains consistent—he has always been on the path of limiting and reducing science, correcting and transcending pure idealist philosophy.