The Body as the Union of the Psychic and the Physical in Bergson and Merleau-Ponty

1991

Within the framework of the theme of the First World Congress of Phenomenology “Fifty Years after Husserl: the Legacy of Husserl and Contemporary Phenomenology,” I wish to set forth in this brief article some reflections on the phenomenology of the body in Bergson and Merleau-Ponty. This analysis is not aimed directly at possible similarities and divergences between Bergson and Husserl.1 I have concentrated upon one of their heirs, Merleau-Ponty. I consider that the phenomenological method can throw light on the perennial problem of anthropology: the relationships between the psychic and the physical. On the other hand, as a student of Bergsonian thought, I would like to point out the simil…