By Merleau-ponty at the Limits of Art, Religion and Perception (Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy): 39

This is a timely and important collection of essays examining Merleau-Ponty's interrogation of the limits of philosophy. "Merleau-Ponty at the Limits of Art, Religion and Perception" seeks to answer the question of what lies at the limit of philosophy. The book traces the line between art and aesthetic judgment, psychology and philosophy, sacramentality and transcendence in Merleau-Ponty's life and work. Featuring essays by an international team of leading scholars, this book examines Merleau-Ponty's growing influence in art, cognitive science, psychology and religion. The result is a renewed understanding of the limits of each of these fields: in art, when the line ceases to be a line and becomes a work of art, and when art ceases to be art alone and manifests a philosophy; in religion, when sensuality transfigures into sacramentality or faith becomes religion; in philosophy, when the subject ceases to be merely temporal, but becomes temporality; and, in psychology and cognitive science, when perception becomes normative, when our bodies go beyond physical extension to become places of skill and feeling, when theory becomes therapy, practice or habit. "Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy" presents cutting-edge scholarship in the field of modern European thought. The wholly original arguments, perspectives and research findings in titles in this series make it an important and stimulating resource for students and academics from across the discipline. Review "Merleau-Ponty's engagement with visual art both informs and justifies his account of perception; it is impossible to understand the latter without the former. In both cases the experience of communion with what goes beyond oneself is crucial. The interesting and informative essays in this collection bring out some of the interplay between these artistic, perceptual, and religious phenomena and explore the way Merleau-Ponty himself understands them. The book will serve both as a guide to the uninitiated in these areas and as a spur to those already engaged." - Sean D. Kelly, Harvard University, USA About the Author Kascha Snavely is a PhD candidate in philosophy at Boston College and Lecturer in Philosophy at Seattle University, USA. She is the co-editor of Phenomenologies of the Stranger (Fordham, forthoming 2010). Neal DeRoo is Teaching Fellow in Philosophy at Boston College, USA, and also teaches at Brock University, Canada. He is the co-editor of Phenomenology and Eschatology (Ashgate, 2009).