Marxism and Phenomenology: The Dialectical Horizons of Critique, edited by Bryan Smyth and Richard Westerman, offers new perspectives on the possibility of a philosophical outlook that combines Marxism and phenomenology in the critique of capitalism. Although Marxism’s focus on impersonal social structures and phenomenology’s concern with lived experience can make these traditions appear conceptually incompatible, the potential critical force of a theoretical reconciliation inspired severa...

Bringing to light the essential philosophical role of Marxism within Merleau-Ponty's reinterpretation of transcendental phenomenology, this book shows that the realization of this project hinges methodologically upon a renewed conception of the proletariat qua universal class-specifically, that it rests upon a humanist myth of incarnation which, substantiated by Merleau-Ponty's notion of 'heroism', locates an objective historical purposiveness in the habituated organism of the modern subje...

This study brings to light the original concept of the imaginary that emerges from Merleau Ponty’s thought. It elucidates the main influences that contributed to shaping Merleau-Ponty’s theory of the imaginary and aims to show that this novel concept constitutes one of the most crucial yet challenging keys to his philosophy and ultimately his ontology.This book develops the ontology of the imagery sketched by Merleau-Ponty and examines its practical implications. As its originally ...