EMBODIMENT

- Embodiment makes the human experience and does the things that
make him a person. Because of the human embodiment, physical
acts are no longer purely physical acts, because the body conveys
something from a person’s inner world.

The embodied self (Merleau-Ponty on consciousness and the lived body)

The Traditional View of Consciousness

- Historically, the quest to understand consciousness has often centered
on the brain's internal processes.
- Descartes initiated the modern mind-body problem, positing that the
conscious mind lacks a specific material location.

Shifting Perspectives
- In recent decades, there has been a shift toward broader conceptions of
consciousness and self.
- Merleau-Ponty plays a pivotal role in advocating for a more distributed
and relational view of consciousness.

The Lived Body

- Merleau-Ponty introduces the concept of the "lived body," distinct
from the physical body.
- The lived body encompasses the brain, sensory organs, and their
extension into the world through tools and objects.
- It serves as the conduit for our consciousness of the world,
emphasizing our embodied engagement with the environment.

Perception as Fundamental
- Merleau-Ponty places perception at the core of consciousness.
- Perception is an active synthesis that unifies the perceptual whole,
often operating beyond our conscious awareness.
- It presents objects and properties in the world, not as isolated sensory
data.

Characteristics of Bodily Perception

- Bodily perception involves independent, rule-based synthesis.
- It operates opaquely, with its processes hidden from conscious
scrutiny.
- Perception is non-thetic, focusing on the world's properties, not on its
own processes.

Contrasting Views of Consciousness

- Merleau-Ponty's view contrasts sharply with the Cartesian-inspired
notion of separable sensory experiences or qualia.
- The unity of consciousness, according to Merleau-Ponty, is inseparable
from the unity of brain, body, and world.

Implications for Contemporary Debates

- Merleau-Ponty's perspective challenges reductionist views of
consciousness.
- Arguments against consciousness often hinge on the assumption of
isolated, inner qualia.
- A more distributed and embodied view may reshape our intuitions
about these arguments.

Embracing Embodied Consciousness

- Merleau-Ponty's view does not diminish the significance of
consciousness but invites a shift away from localized internalism.
- It encourages us to perceive consciousness and self as inseparable from
our embodied and immersive interactions with the world.