Essays on the World -- Contemporary French Thought and Culture Translation Series

Author: Merleau-Ponty Yang Da Chun
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-07-01
Features: The Prose of the World particularly explores general linguistic issues, problems of expression, communication and dialogue, and formalization in literature, art, and science, representing his critical reflections 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. The book thus holds considerable reference value for scholars in the fields of philosophy, linguistics, literary theory, and criticism. Perhaps due to dedicating more effort to 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 its ideas. The actual situation may be that because some of the core arguments of the book were incorporated into an ontological framework, The Prose of the World was deemed redundant and 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 phenomenology of perception, but a clear tension emerges between "nature and culture." This is also a theme explored by Lévi-Strauss in structural anthropology, and thus the shared theoretical interests between Merleau-Ponty and Lévi-Strauss become prominent. A Rousseau-esque pastoral dream and mystical consciousness lead Merleau-Ponty to return from culture to nature (of course, an idealized 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.