Merleau-Ponty and Philosophy of Race

Very thoughtful and powerful philosophical piece by California State University Fullerton Department of Philosophy Dr. Emily Lee on race that comes from French phenomenological philosopher, Maurice Merleau-Ponty.  Merleau-Ponty himself was strongly influenced by Martin Heidegger and Edmund Husserl.  Dr. Lee develops the argument of race—and ultimately sex and gender—as "embodied knowledge," which women of color, especially, I think, will be able to relate. 

-Angela

Merleau-Ponty and Philosophy of Race

Published in Berfrois: Literature, Ideas and Tea

October 26, 2012

Maurice Merleau-Ponty did not write much on race; he only mentioned it once, as far as I know, in his article, “The Child’s Relation with Others”. In these post-colonial times, it is recognized that one of the tools of colonialism is its epistemic hegemony—defining knowledge on the semblance of originating or affiliating with the northwest. Under such circumstances, as a philosopher whose primary research questions focus on race and feminist philosophy, my concentration on the work of Maurice Merleau-Ponty and weaving his work with the questions concerning race and sex needs some explanation.

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