Merleau-Ponty, Maurice

views updated

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice (1905–61) A French phenomenological philosopher who was especially concerned with the relationships between the body, consciousness, and the outside world; one-time friend and colleague of Jean-Paul Sartre. His work on language is often seen as linking phenomenology and structuralism. Merleau-Ponty's most important book is The Phenomenology of Perception (1945). His work is rarely used by sociologists although Anthony Giddens has taken up some of his ideas in The Constitution of Society (1984).

More From encyclopedia.com