Merleau-Ponty's Philosophy

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments It is no exaggeration to say that this book is the result of a process that has been unfolding for nearly twenty years. As one might imagine, my thinking and writing about Merleau-Ponty has been touched by many people during this long time, and it is my deep pleasure to acknowledge them here. A first thank-you goes to Arthur Melnick at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for all the “metaphysics” I learned through his hands. My thanks also go to Richard Schacht, Fred Schmitt, and Stephen Watson for all their work on my behalf and support. I am also especially indebted to two other teachers: William Schroeder for his excellent course on Merleau-Ponty, taken in my second year of graduate school, and Seale Doss who inspired my phenomenological leanings as an undergraduate. After completing my Ph.D. in 1991, during my early years at Muhlenberg College, I spent much of my research time writing, presenting, and then publishing essays on Merleau-Ponty in journals and anthologies. For their enthusiasm about my essays and their sage advice, I want to thank Fred Evans, Leonard Lawlor, James Morley, Dorothea Olkowski, and Gail Weiss, and the editors at Continental Philosophy Review (formerly Man and World). I began to work on this book in earnest during a sabbatical leave from Muhlenberg in the spring semester of 1999. In 2000–2001, I was able to work intensely on it by receiving course relief as the Muhlenberg College “Class of 1932 Research Professor.” Further, I have received several Faculty Research Grants from the College. Thus, I am grateful to Muhlenberg for the important ways it has supported my work on this book. I also want to thank a number of my Muhlenberg faculty colleagues for support of this project and friendship, in particular: Ludwig Schlecht, Alec Marsh, Linda Miller, Jack Gambino, Rich Niesenbaum, Jim Peck, Francesca Coppa, Susan Schwartz, Scott Sherk, Laura Edelman, David Tafler, Curtis Dretsch, and Nelvin Vos. I am also profoundly appreciative of the many Muhlenberg students who have studied Merleau-Ponty with me in seminars and courses during the years that this book was being written. It is not possible to recognize them all here, but special mention must go to Abram Anderson, Michael Bernstein, Heather Blakeslee, Lydia Brubaker, Frank Christmann, Eve DeVaro, Lee Dury, Jamie Ebersole, Susan Frederick, Ardalan Keramati, Kara Gebhart, Doug Herreshaft , Linda Hertzberg, Jon Katz, Rich Meagher, Samir Pandya, Thomas Kay Peri, Andrew Smith, Meredith Sossman, Danielle Spang, Victor van Buchem, Aaron Wolf, and Kristin Wustholz. As the book was being written, chapter by chapter, I received comments and good advice from my friends and colleagues Alec Marsh, Ludwig Schlecht, and Andrew Smith. This book has directly benefited from the hours they put in on its behalf. There is no sufficient way to thank them, but I remain deeply grateful for their support of the project. I am also appreciative to Jim Adams for editing suggestions for one of the chapters, and to David Dusenbury for excellent work as copy editor of the manuscript. Special thanks too go to Leonard Lawlor and Dorothea Olkowski who reviewed the book for Indiana University Press and made many important suggestions that have been incorporated into it. Finally, I want to thank Dee Mortensen and her assistant Laura MacLeod at Indiana University Press for their many efforts on behalf of the book. Amidst all these close readers and their excellent advice, it goes without saying that I am responsible for any remaining deficiencies. I also want to acknowledge the flourishing intellectual community of the International Merleau-Ponty Circle. I have been attending and presenting papers at its annual conferences since 1987. For those readers who may be unaware of this organization, the community of these conferences is truly remarkable : it is characterized by the unique combination of supportive collegiality and rigorous critical scholarship on Merleau-Ponty’s thought. I have developed many friendships and professional relationships in this community and they have nurtured my career-long fascination with Merleau-Ponty. There is no way to acknowledge all of the people whose ideas, presentations , and feedback over the years have informed my thinking, but I would be remiss if I did not mention Galen Johnson, Dorothea Olkowski, Stephen Watson, Alphonso Lingis, Hugh Silverman, Robert Bernasconi, Michael B. Smith, Forrest Williams, Pat Burke, Fred Evans, Leonard Lawlor, James Morley , Duane Davis, Susan O’Shaughnessy, Gail Weiss, Helen Fielding, Joanne Dillon, David Abram, Carolyn Woolson, Glen Mazis, Ted Toadvine...