He made phenomenology a philosophy of the body. He co-founded “Les Temps modernes” with Sartre, from whom communism separated him in 1953, and was the youngest chair-holder in the history of the Collège de France. A heart attack struck him down at his desk in 1961, an unfinished book before him.
The story
Maurice Merleau-Ponty was born at Rochefort on 14 March 1908. A reader of Husserl, he made phenomenology a philosophy of the body: we do not think the world from a distance, we are already engaged in it through perception.
“The Structure of Behaviour” appeared in 1942, “Phenomenology of Perception” in 1945 — the book that shifted the philosophical subject from the cogito to the perceiving body, and that fed psychology, aesthetics and the cognitive sciences long afterwards.
The same year he founded with Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir the review “Les Temps modernes”, which he co-edited. The political break with Sartre, over communism, ended that collaboration in 1953.
Elected to the Collège de France in 1952, to the chair of philosophy, he was the youngest holder in the history of the house.
He died on 3 May 1961, struck down by a heart attack at his desk. “Eye and Mind”, published the same year, is his last published text; “The Visible and the Invisible” was left unfinished. He lies in Division 52 with his mother, his wife and his daughter.
On site, do not miss
A family grave where four names follow one another, with no mention of philosophy.
Visitors' questions
Where is Merleau-Ponty's grave?
In Division 52, chemin de la Cave, ninth row, in the central part of the cemetery — the Division of Jules Michelet's marble recumbent effigy. He rests there with his mother, his wife Suzanne and his daughter Marianne.
Jules MicheletHow did he die?
Of a sudden, massive heart attack, on 3 May 1961, at his desk — he was fifty-three. His last book, “The Visible and the Invisible”, was left unfinished and appeared only after his death.
Auguste ComteWhat is his philosophy of the body?
The idea that we do not think the world from a distance but are already engaged in it through perception. The “Phenomenology of Perception”, in 1945, shifts the philosophical subject from the cogito to the perceiving body.
Pierre BourdieuWhat was his connection with Sartre?
Together they founded “Les Temps modernes” in 1945, with Simone de Beauvoir, and he was its co-editor for eight years. Their political falling-out, over communism, ended the collaboration in 1953.
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