Sartre in the company of Merleau-Ponty, Foucault and Duden
pp. 200-214
in: Katherine J. Morris (ed), Sartre on the body, Berlin, Springer, 2010Abstract
In this chapter I argue that there is an intrinsic connection between the kind of world in which we find ourselves today — a world in environmental crisis — and the kind of body we have created for ourselves. If we are to bring about a positive change in our environmental situation, we must significantly transform our bodily being at the same time. I will contend that Sartre's phenomenological description better fits our current experience of our body and the world than does Merleau-Ponty's. Further, I will argue that Sartre's analyses of the look and the practico-inert can help us understand where we are environmentally today. These analyses also illuminate our alienation from the body and world that may well play a major role in environmental destruction and political conflict. This chapter shows that Foucault's and Duden's critiques of the modern body draw on Sartre's analysis of the look. Further, I demonstrate that combining aspects of Sartre's philosophy with Merleau-Ponty's, Foucault's and Duden's perspectives yields a fruitful approach to current concerns.1
