Tag Archives: phenomenology

Chair at Foucault and Phenomenology Conference

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I had the privilege of chairing a session at the Foucault and Phenomenology Conference in Memphis, Tennessee in March 2025. It was put on by The Southern Journal of Philosophy at the University of Memphis. Here is a link to the program.

Not only was it incredible to discuss Foucault’s relation to phenomenology with scholars from around the world, but it was a privilege to introduce and monitor the session of Philippe Sabot, an internationally recognized scholar in Foucault. In fact, his work encouraged me while I was writing my dissertation that a connection between Merleau-Ponty and Foucault could be established.

In my introduction, I said, “I first heard Philippe Sabot speak with Frederic Gros and Daniele Lorenzini in the basement of the bibliothèque marguerite in Paris in 2017. I was living there at the time working on my dissertation on Merleau-Ponty and Foucault and his work inspired me that I was perhaps on the right track to argue that there is a possible and even fruitful dialogue between Merleau-Ponty and Foucault.”

His title was: “From phenomenology to archaeology: Foucault with Merleau-Ponty.”

Sexuality as a Starting Place for Metaphysics: Response to Fedoryka’s Paper

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I had the opportunity to offer a response to Maria Fedoryka’s “The Intimate Structure of Sex and Its Meaning” at the American Catholic Philosophical Association Conference on November 16, 2024.

My title was “Centrality of Sexuality: A Beginning to Metaphysics.” Here is an excerpt from my talk:

“In a rather provocative statement, Merleau-Ponty argues that our sexuality is a starting place for metaphysics: “Metaphysics — the emergence of a beyond nature — is not localized on the level of knowledge; it begins with the opening to an ‘other,’ it is everywhere and already contained within the distinctive development of sexuality.”[1] Sexual desires, as Merleau-Ponty points out, although rooted in our body, are for more than physical gratification, but for closeness and intimacy with an other (a “union” as Fedoryka calls it). This opening up to something beyond ourselves is the work of metaphysics; it is a drawing us and pulling us to the truth of being which is the source for all meaning of human life. All of metaphysics is always done as bodily creatures; we can never take a break from our bodies to contemplate the questions of existence and yet, as bodily creatures, in doing metaphysics, we are constantly drawn to higher things. Sexual desires illustrate this unlike anything else: they are firmly embedded in our bodily desires and yet include a longing to be caught up in something bigger than ourselves. Merleau-Ponty writes, “There is no explanation of sexuality that reduces it to something other than itself; it already is, so to speak, our entire being.”[2] The centrality of sexuality reveals how humans have an openness to transcendence which permeates all of our being.” 

[1] Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception, trans. Donald A Landes (Routledge, 2012), 171.

[2] Merleau-Ponty, Phenomenology of Perception, 174.

Conference Presentation: Virtual Symphony and Virtual Church: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence

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I had the opportunity to present a presentation titled, “Virtual Symphony and Virtual Church: Considering the Importance of Bodily Presence” at the virtual 2021 Psychology and the Other Conference on September 19, 2021.

Here is my short summary and longer abstract:

Short Summary

This paper weighs in on the question of virtual church, particularly on whether or not liturgy can be done virtually. We will approach our subject from an unusual perspective by looking first to aesthetic experiences, such as watching a virtual symphony, and then relate them to liturgical experiences, such as attending virtual church. Art and liturgy are linked in that they both have the unique ability to facilitate presence, to make something known to us in a new way so that we walk away changed. I argue that what art teaches us about the importance of the body applies to the practice of liturgy and that, while unexpected benefits will surface in virtual settings, nothing replaces the powerful experiences that arise when the body is physically present.

Longer Abstract

No one will deny that there is a substantial difference between meeting in person and meeting virtually. Now, more than ever due to the covid crisis, we have experienced virtual gatherings in almost every sphere of our lives. For religious gatherings, these types of discussions have been of critical importance, sometimes causing great tension and conflict between members of the same communities. This paper weighs in on the question of virtual church, particularly on whether or not liturgy can be done virtually. We will approach our subject from a somewhat unusual perspective by looking first to aesthetic experiences, such as watching a virtual symphony, and then relate them to liturgical experiences, such as attending virtual church. Art and liturgy are linked in that they both have the unique ability to facilitate presence, to make something known to us in a new way so that we walk away changed. I argue that what art teaches us about the significance of the physical closeness of the human applies to the practice of liturgy and that, while unexpected benefits will surface in virtual settings, nothing replaces the powerful experiences that arise when the body is physically present.

Beginning with art, we consider aesthetic experiences such as viewing a photo of a painting or listening to a music recording or attending a virtual symphony. Drawing on Mikel Dufrenne, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Gabriel Marcel, we explore how art has a way of pulling us beyond the constraints of space and time in order to experience presence. And yet, the most powerful moments of presence are when the body is at the same place and in the same time as the work of art, such as discovering the original painting at a museum or attending an in person symphony. 

Next, I consider the weight of the body in experiences of presence in liturgical practices, both in person and virtual, guided again by Gabriel Marcel as well as Bruce Ellis Benson, Emmanuel Falque, Christina Gschwandtner and Éric Palazzo. Considering liturgy as both what happens in worship gatherings and in daily life, we will discuss three aspects of liturgy to understand the role of presence in its practices: liturgy as art, liturgy as bodily, and liturgy as communal. We find that liturgy as art draws us into worshipping and into shaping our souls, liturgy engages all five senses of the body and liturgy lives only in communal settings. I will relate this three-part understanding of liturgy to virtual and non-virtual experiences and argue that a full experience of liturgy must include the bodily presence of the self and others.

Applying the insights from aesthetic experiences to liturgical experiences, we discover the importance of bodily presence in all areas of life. This discovery, ultimately, provides further validation to treating humans as undivided wholes, with full integration of mental and physical capacities, and awakens us to the deep experiences of presence that we have available when we are fully engaged.

Powerpoint SlidesDownload

Book Sent to Press: Madness in Experience and History

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My book has been sent to press! You can actually pre-order it now through Routledge and even Amazon. It is so exciting to see this come to fruition!

Title: Madness in Experience and History: Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology and Foucault’s Archaeology

Back of the Book Blurb:

Madness in Experience and History brings together experience and history to show their impact on madness or mental illness. 

Drawing on the writings of two 20th century French philosophers, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Michel Foucault, the author pairs a phenomenological approach with an archaeological approach to present a new perspective on mental illness as an experience that arises out of common behavioral patterns and shared historical structures. Many today feel frustrated with the medical model because of its deficiencies in explaining mental illness. In response, the author argues that we must integrate human experiences of mental disorders with the history of mental disorders to have a full account of mental health and to make possible a more holistic care.

Scholars in the humanities and mental health practitioners will appreciate how such an analysis not only offers a greater understanding of mental health, but also a fresh take on discovering value in diverse human experiences.

Abstract for Merleau-Ponty on Habit With Possible Implications for Psychopathology

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(This abstract was accepted by the North Texas Philosophical Association for the 2016 Conference which will be taking place in Dallas, Texas, April 1-2, 2016. I will be presenting a paper based on this abstract. I am honored to be accepted and eagerly anticipating the conference.)

Habits are part of our daily lives and something that all of us act upon – whether we want to or not. Merleau-Ponty takes a broad approach to human habit claiming that it is a key to all of human behavior. In this paper, we will walk through Merleau-Ponty’s description of habit and discover the integral role it plays in how we learn and how we encounter the world. Furthermore, we will discuss Merleau-Ponty’s radical claim that humans do not just have habits, but are habits. Taking these ideas further, I suggest that such an understanding of human habit is particularly beneficial for the practice of psychopathology by recognizing that those struggling with mental disorders are still operating according to habit. I conclude the paper by offering four possible ways that this recognition may provide fresh avenues to understand, help, and heal them as fellow humans.