The Barbarian Principle: Merleau-Ponty, Schelling, and the Question of Nature (SUNY Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)

Essays exploring a rich intersection between phenomenology and idealism with contemporary relevance.

Toward the end of his life, Maurice Merleau-Ponty made a striking retrieval of F. W. J. Schelling’s philosophy of nature. The Barbarian Principle explores the relationship between these two thinkers on this topic, opening up a dialogue with contemporary philosophical and ecological significance that will be of special interest to philosophers working in phenomenology and German idealism.

“The Barbarian Principle is an excellent contribution to the study of Schelling and Merleau-Ponty. For the Schelling scholar or student, it opens a new horizon for reconsidering Schelling’s influence on twentieth-century continental philosophy in general, and phenomenology in particular (where much interest has been paid to Heidegger). For the Merleau-Ponty scholar or student, this volume demonstrates that Merleau-Ponty’s engagement with German idealism extends well beyond the interrogation of Hegel or Kant.” — Devin Zane Shaw, author of Freedom and Nature in Schelling’s Philosophy of Art