On the concept of "incarnation" in the ontology of nature of Merleau-Ponty: anthropological implications

Abstract

The philosopher Merleau-Ponty (1908-1961) links the fundamental attempt of a new ontology of nature to the pivotal question of the phenomenon of life, understood as a natural phenomenon that - through evolution - embodies a singular existence. As remarked by Merleau-Ponty, the human being gains access to the world throughout his bodily intersection into the world, conceived as a shared horizon of symbolic meanings. Criticizing the applications of physiology, cybernetics and computer sciences to living systems, as explanatory models of life processes (perception, language, behavior), Merleau-Ponty describes the constitution of the biological body - in his determination of esthesiological-libidinal body - as being-for-others (meaning as foundation of the social and collective being). In this sense, reconceptualization of nature is a crucial step in order to understand how theensemble subject/world has historically developed in the form of embodiment. By this, according to Merleau-Ponty, the onto-phylogenetic development of an organism represents a pivotal step for the establishment of the lived body and expressive (perceptual/cultural) body. The project attempts to apply the ontology of nature of Merleau-Ponty to a contemporary ethic, anthropological and epistemological reflection on subjectivity, in order to offer a new model of human experience, of world and community. (AU)