The Appearing of Sense: From Gestalt Theory to Merleau-Ponty Phenomenology

The book interests scholars and students in phenomenology, philosophy of perception, aesthetics, and philosophy of mind, as well as researchers in psychology and cognitive science concerned with the conceptual foundations of perception. Perception does not simply represent reality: it is the field in which meaning first appears. This book reinterprets Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy through its dialogue with Gestalt psychology and experimental studies of perception, showing how structures of appearance shape our understanding of the world before any epistemological judgment. Combining phenomenological analysis with examples from perceptual psychology, this book highlights the philosophical significance of perceptual phenomena such as figure–ground dynamics, illusion, and the relation between visibility and invisibility. It thus brings to light the metaphysical implications of Merleau-Ponty’s thought and clarifies the relation between appearance, reality, and scientific knowledge.