Abstract

Available from UMI in association with The British Library. ;The aim of this thesis is to evaluate Descartes and Berkeley's theories of perception in the light of Merleau Ponty's objections to classical theories in La Phenomenologie de la Perception. According to Merleau Ponty--whose thesis is elucidated by reference to the Gestaltists and Husserl--classical theories of perception either rely on causal explanations or on logical analyses. But, Merleau Ponty argues, neither form of explanation can suitably account for the intentional character of perception. Merleau Ponty claims that it is the adherence of classical theories to the concepts and assumptions of science which lies at the root of their failure to find an adequate third form of explanation. In an attempt to give Merleau Ponty's arguments some historical substance, I undertake a detailed examination of Descartes and Berkeley's theories of perception and I argue that they are indeed founded on the new physics and that they both fail to capture the intentional character of perception.