On our episode this week we discuss The Visible and the Invisible (1968) by Maurice Merleau-Ponty, focusing specifically on “The Intertwining–The Chiasm” (whaaa! How do I pronounce that word?!). We first read salacious quotations peppered throughout this text, then explore what questions about objectivity, sensation and experience Merleau-Ponty attempts to answer throughout. We delve into what he potentially reveals about an ontology of the flesh, discussing the significance of his work for political transformation and feminist epistemology. We conclude this episode with two stellar questions, one from Izzy in Kentrucky dealing with the muddled yet fruitful world(s) of theory/practice/praxis, and the other from Sid in Canada, who poses to us some juicy hypotheticals. Stay tuned for our latest!
Thank you to Joe S. for suggesting we read this Merleau-Ponty! Requests for texts for us to discuss? Advice questions for the show? Email us at alwaysalreadypodcast AT gmail DOT com. Subscribe on iTunes. Like our Facebook page. Get the mp3 of the episode here. RSS feed here. This episode’s music by B and by Ricky Perry.
Links!
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Merleau-Ponty’s ontology of the flesh
- Thomas Baldwin on “Nature and Natural Science in Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology” (YouTube)
- Feminist Interpretations of Maurice Merleau-Ponty (PSU Press)
- Our earlier episode on race, phenomenology, and embodiment
- Syllabus for graduate seminar on Phenomenology and Feminism by Eva-Maria Simms (Duquense)
Always Already Podcast 
He was a Marxist until a little after WW2 and then with the rise of Stalin he became disillusioned with what had happened with the Communist dream.
He wrote a text entitled ‘Humanism and terror’ about this.
Excellent podcast!