Acknowledgments
Introduction
PART ONE: Perception
1: Merleau-Ponty's Embodied Philosophy
Merleau-Ponty's Gestalt Phenomenology
The Unity of Sens
Depth and the Bodily Subject
2: "Taste and See . . . ": Eating as Perception
Hunger, Appetite, and Imagination
Taste, Vision, and Perception
Eating and Ontology
Eating and Human Nature
MIDDLE PART: The Crossing
3: The Old Ontology
The Dominance of Linear Perspective
Science and the Observer
The Exclusion of Mind from Nature
Gestalt Ontology and Human Exceptionalism
PART TWO: Ontology
4: "Restoring Sight to the Blind"
Towards a Renewed Understanding of Visual Perception
Sight as Representation
Glancing at the World
Contents
5: Institution and Incarnation in Merleau-Ponty's Ontology
Merleau-Ponty and Christianity
The Logic of Institution
The Anonymous Body and Incarnation
6: Incarnation, Existence, and Musterion
God and Nature
Existential Metaphysics
Merleau-Ponty's Doubt
Creation and Participation
The Logic of Incarnation
Transcendence and Transformation
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Orion Edgar (PhD, Nottingham) is Curate at Pershore Abbey, Worcestershire.
"Merleau-Ponty's philosophy is at last beginning to receive the
attention it so richly deserves. It remains one of the most fertile
sources in recent thought for reshaping the way we think about
knowledge, time, and embodiment - a reshaping made all the more
urgent by the political and ecological disasters of our times. It
is also a style of thought with obvious theological resonance, a
question that has long been in need of the kind of careful,
insightful, and creative attention that Orion Edgar provides in
this really admirable study, which brings Merleau-Ponty's analyses
of bodily existence together with central themes of the Christian
imagination - incarnation and sacrament - in a deeply original and
fruitful way."
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Master of
Magdalene College, Cambridge
"This is, quite simply, the most magnificent account of
Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology ever written. Edgar brings to life,
in the fullest possible terms, the genius of Merleau-Ponty - the
church should be truly grateful."
Conor Cunningham, Associate Professor in Theology and Philosophy,
Department of Theology; Co-Director, Centre of Theology and
Philosophy, University of Nottingham
"In this sophisticated first monograph, Orion Edgar reexamines the
philosophy of Merleau-Ponty from the perspective of the Catholic
faith that always lapped at the edges of his thought. Once
Merleau-Ponty's notions of 'flesh' and 'depth' (in particular) are
thus freshly illuminated, his striking relevance for a contemporary
theology of the incarnation becomes apparent. Edgar's analysis is
both philosophically insightful and theologically rich, and this
study makes a significant contribution to Merleau-Ponty
scholarship."
Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity, University of
Cambridge
"Things Seen and Unseen is a welcome and elegant contribution to
the recovery of Merleau-Ponty's 'incarnational' phenomenology for
theology. It will be read with value by those interested in
theological aesthetics and philosophy of religion as well."
Janet Soskice, Professor of Philosophical Theology, Faculty of
Divinity, University of Cambridge
"In this erudite and articulate book, Edgar offers an embodied
account of human existence in terms of hunger, dependence, desire,
and intersubjectivity. He does so by means of a sincere and subtle
development of Merleau-Ponty's ontology. As such, he fleshes out
the deep philosophical meaning of incarnation that has relevance
for both epistemology and Christian theology. He diagnoses and
overcomes the dualisms that still haunt the contemporary
imagination. We do not realize how Cartesian we are."
Philip Goodchild, Professor of Religion and Philosophy, University
of Nottingham
"Things Seen and Unseen confirms the significance of Maurice
Merleau-Ponty as one of the principal philosophical voices
deserving contemporary theological attention. It also confirms
Orion Edgar's significance as a voice in Christian philosophical
theology. The Veritas series has its genesis in the Radical
Orthodoxy movement and, since its beginnings, that movement has
pointed to, and explored, the centrality of mediation to the
Christian intellectual vision. This book is a further substantial
contribution."
Andrew Davison, Faculty of Divinity and Corpus Christi College,
University of Cambridge
"We should be extremely grateful to Edgar for opening a significant
new field of research, which it can only be hoped others will
enter."
-David Grumet, Religion and Theology, Vol. 24, Issue 2, 2017
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