Espace, mouvement et corps virtuels chez Merleau-Ponty

Merleau-Ponty's concepts of virtual space, virtual movement, and virtual body, drawn from contemporary psychology, are central to his philosophy of perception. The article traces how these three notions interconnect and argues that they are essential for understanding his account of embodied perception, where the virtual body enables movement through virtual space, shaping how we perceive and engage with the world.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In the Structure of Behaviour Merleau-Ponty introduces the concept of “virtual space” and those of “virtual movement” and “virtual body” in the Phenomenology of perception. The purpose of this article is to establish the links between these three notions that Merleau-Ponty borrows from the psychological literature of his time and to show why they constitute key elements of his philosophy of perception.