One central link between Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of language and his political thought

pp. 19-36

in: Bernard Dauenhauer, Elements of responsible politics, Berlin, Springer, 1991

Abstract

Through much of his career, Merleau-Ponty was concerned both with the topic of language and with the topic of politics. But he himself never explicitly connected these two strands of thought. Nonetheless, at least one central link binds these strands together and, in so doing, strengthens each of them. This link is provided by his recognition of the importance of the phenomenon of silence.