Haley Conroy - Class 11/15 Merleau-Ponty

 Today in class we talked about Merleau-Ponty and how he is famous for his conversation about our bodies in relation to philosophy. Through his exploration of this issue he explains both the pre-reflexive character that our original linkage with the world has, as well as the kind of understanding that our body develops with the world. A defining quote that represents this is, “my body is the fabric in which the objects are woven”. This quote explores a connection between our bodies and other creatures in the world. He also ties in his beliefs about our relationship with the natural world and the environment. Merleau-Ponty believes that our embodiment in the world means that we must be entangled with eating and drinking even on the most basic level. Additionally, we cannot relate to other creatures in the world unless we come to terms with our own embodiment and what it entails. According to Merleau-Ponty, there is no hard separation between bodily conduct and intelligent conduct. Rather, there is a unity of behavior that expresses the intentionality and hence the meaning of this conduct. In habits, the body adapts to the intended meaning, thus giving itself a form of embodied consciousness. Merleau-Ponty felt that the more we open up to seeing ourselves as intertwined with the natural world, the more this relationship comes to depict a two-way dialogue, recognizing that there is always some of ‘us’ in ‘nature’ and some of nature in us. To carry Merleau-Ponty’s insights from our class discussion into our everyday lives, I suggest that we can apply the simple notion of being present by carefully attending to the here and now of experience and life. In my own experience I have noticed that when I meditate and check in with myself throughout the day that I am more receptive to my natural surroundings. 

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