Overview

Between present and past, visible and invisible, and sensation and idea, there is resonance—so philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty argued and so Jessica Wiskus explores in The Rhythm of Thought. Holding the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé, the paintings of Paul Cézanne, the prose of Marcel Proust, and the music of Claude Debussy under Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological light, she offers innovative interpretations of some of these artists’ masterworks, in turn articulating a new perspective on Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy. More than merely recovering Merleau-Ponty’s thought, Wiskus thinks according to it. First examining these artists in relation to noncoincidence—as silence in poetry, depth in painting, memory in literature, and rhythm in music—she moves through an array of their artworks toward some of Merleau-Ponty’s most exciting themes: our bodily relationship to the world and the dynamic process of expression. She closes with an examination of synesthesia as an intertwining of internal and external realms and a call, finally, for philosophical inquiry as a mode of artistic expression. Structured like a piece of music itself, The Rhythm of Thought offers new contexts in which to approach art, philosophy, and the resonance between them.

Full Product Details

9780226274256

Table of Contents

Reviews

In this pioneering and original study, Wiskus shows how Merleau-Ponty leads philosophy to a creative threshold-the place where thought and music merge.... A captivating experiment in thought and expression. (Richard Kearney, Boston College)

Jessica Wiskus's The Rhythm of Thought takes on an extraordinary journey through the art works and music which inspired Merleau-Ponty's philosophy. Wiskus draws on her expert knowledge of music and painting to comment in illuminating detail on Merleau-Ponty's aesthetic sensibility, a sensibility that informed his overall vision of the world. This is a remarkable, highly original, fascinating, and deeply thoughtful book, a 'must' for anyone who wants to understand one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century. --Dermot Moran, University College Dublin

Author Information

Jessica Wiskus is associate professor of music, chair of the Department of Musicianship Studies, and director of the Center for the Study of Music and Philosophy at Duquesne University.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available