Motivation and the Primacy of Perception: Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Knowledge

By Peter Antich

Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological notion of motivation advances a compelling alternative to the empiricist and rationalist assumptions that underpin modern epistemology. Arguing that knowledge is ultimately founded in perceptual experience, Peter Antich interprets and defends Merleau-Ponty's thinking on motivation as the key to establishing a new form of epistemic grounding. Upending the classical dichotomy between reason and natural causality, justification and explanation, Antich shows how this epistemic ground enables Merleau-Ponty to offer a radically new account of knowledge and its relation to perception. In so doing, Antich demonstrates how and why Merleau-Ponty remains a vital resource for today's epistemologists.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0821424327
• ISBN13: 9780821424322
• Release Date: February 2021
• Publisher: Ohio University Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.2" x 9.1"