Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. i These are the codified thoughts that allowed Maurice Merleau-Ponty the opportunity to establish himself as a first rate philosopher. The world of philosophy has neglected the body for centuries, if not millennia, Phenomenology of Perception brings the most central part of our world back into the way we think about it. He crashed onto the scene and burned some of the most darling philosophical landmarks of his forebears in effigy. This book is generally held to be a decisive example of existentialism, particularly existentialist work in the French fashion, although there is far more than the vague imagined scent of a galloise on the pages. Existentialism is far from the only influence on the work. The discerning reader will see echoes of Plato’s forms in Merleau-Ponty’s essences and even an implicit critique of the idea.<br> <br>For the philosopher en chaise, the daring criticism of even Cartesian doubt is thrilling; it feels like jumping on the bed while Socrates isn’t looking. Merleau-Ponty utterly rejects the mind-body duality put forward by so many of the giants of our philosophical ancestry in favour of an argument which emphasises the instrumental aspects of consciousness and our full and visceral habitation of our flesh. Gnaw on the questions that he will raise in your mind about whether huge assumptions have been made about the nature of consciousness and how that links to our physical selves.<br> <br>If only for a moment, throw your perceived certainties aside and engage with the idea that your very consciousness may not be what you think.