Csaba Pléh
professor of psychology
presently: Collegium de Lyon
15 parvis Rene Descartes
ENS Recherche R 147
69007 Lyon France
T: 33437376596 Fax: 33437376273
Mobile: 36303493735, csaba.pleh(a)ens-lyon.fr
Eszterhazy Karoly College
Eger H-3300
editor in chief, Hungarian Review of Psychology
member, Academia Europaea and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
----- Original Message -----
From: Krisztina Biber
To: whatson(a)ceu.hu ; mafla(a)phil.elte.hu
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2013 9:23 AM
Subject: [koglist] invitation to a talk on`Merleau-Ponty and his „primacy of perception“
thesis`by Jakub Čapek - 12 February, 5.30 PM
The CEU Department of Philosophy cordially invites you to a talk
(as part of its Departmental Colloquium series)
by
Jakub Čapek (Charles University, Prague)
on
`Merleau-Ponty and his „primacy of perception“ thesis`
Tuesday, 12 February, 2013, 5.30 PM, Zrinyi 14, Room 412
ABSTRACT
In Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, perception is not just a possible philosophical issue. The
analysis of perception largely determines the way other philosophical issues, such as
consciousness, time, language or ideal objects, should be approached. Merleau-Ponty
repeatedly affirms the priority of perceiving, as, for instance, in his 1946 lecture The
Primacy of Perception and Its Philosophical Consequences or in his masterpiece
Phenomenology of Perception (1945), where he regards perception as our “primordial
knowledge” of the real. In my work on Merleau-Ponty, I do two things: (1.) I try to state
as clearly as possible, what meaning the primacy of perception has, and (2.) what
philosophical consequences it implies.
In my lecture, I proceed in three steps. Since the thesis of the primacy of perception –
in all its possible meanings – presupposes a certain idea of what perception is, I briefly
outline Merleau-Ponty’s theory of perception. Secondly, I come back to the primacy of
perception thesis. I propose to distinguish its three possible meanings. This enables us
to formulate our question more precisely. Thirdly, I focus on one area of application of
Merleau-Ponty’s fundamental thesis, viz. on his analysis of consciousness. I will
interpret his statement: “All consciousness is, in some measure, perceptual
consciousness.”
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