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Philosophy Talk

Merleau-Ponty and Perception

What is experience really like, before reason comes along to change everything?

For French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, everything we perceive takes the form of a shape. You don’t just see green and splotches: you see a tree. Even before your rational brain gets its motor running, your body has a sense of what’s out there, and indeed what’s useful—or dangerous—for your life. But what happens when you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t make sense of your visual field? And how much work is really being done with your body, as opposed to your rational mind? Josh and Ray sense a conversation with Taylor Carman from Barnard College, author of Merleau-Ponty (Routledge Philosophers). Sunday, June 7 at 11 am.

Devon Strolovitch studied medieval Judeo-Portuguese manuscripts and earned a PhD in Linguistics from Cornell University before coming to KALW. He is the Senior Producer of Philosophy Talk, and since 2007 has hosted Fog City Blues, the weekly digest of Blues in the Bay Area and beyond.