Merleau-Ponty and the mind-body problem

Authors

Keywords:

Merleau-Ponty. Embodied consciousness. Mind-body problem. Philosophy of mind. Philosophy of perception.

Abstract

In this paper we will present how Merleau-Ponty develops the mind-body problem by dealing with what embodied consciousness is. We will show how his phenomenological account confronts empiricist-intellectualist views and how it dissolves the problem. To this end, we focus on conceptions of situated consciousness and pre-reflective consciousness. We deal with the case of the Ghost Member to clarify the problem and, ultimately, as a model of embodied, nondualistic consciousness.

Author Biography

Sâmara Araújo Costa , Universidade do Porto (UP - Portugal)

Doutora em Filosofia pela Universidade do Porto (UP - Portugal).

References

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MERLEAU-PONTY, M. A Estrutura do Comportamento. Trad. Márcia Valéria Martinez de Aguiar. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2006.

MERLEAU-PONTY, M. Fenomenologia da Percepção. Trad. Carlos Alberto Ribeiro de Moura. 2. ed. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 1999.

SIEWERT, C. Consciência. In: DREYFUS, H. L.; WRATHALL, M. A. (Orgs.). Fenomenologia e Existencialismo. Trad. Cecília Camargo Bartalotti e Luciana Pudenzi. São Paulo: Ed. Loyola, 2012.

SOMBRA, J. de C. A subjetividade corpórea: a naturalização da subjetividade na filosofia de Merleau-Ponty. São Paulo: UNESP, 2006.

PRIEST, S. Merleau-Ponty and the mind-body problem. In: Merleau-Ponty. London: Routledge, 1998.

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Published

2025-07-25

How to Cite

COSTA , S. A. Merleau-Ponty and the mind-body problem. Kairós: Revista Acadêmica da Prainha, Fortaleza, v. 21, n. 1, p. 171–181, 2025. Disponível em: https://www.ojs.catolicadefortaleza.edu.br/index.php/kairos/article/view/504. Acesso em: 28 may. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 1 (2025)

Section

Artigos Varia

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Copyright (c) 2025 Kairós: Revista Acadêmica da Prainha

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