Institution and wild spirit in M. Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy: praxis, ontology and politics

• Grant number: 09/17893-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): April 01, 2010
• Effective date (End): March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Philosophy - History of Philosophy
• Principal Investigator: Marilena de Souza Chauí
• Grantee: Mariana Isabel Larison
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 12/10126-9 - Conflict and imaginary: an approximation of the notions of institution and politics in Merleau-Pontys thought, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Our work try to understand the idea of praxis in Merleau-Ponty´s work trough the notions of, on the one hand, institution -offer by the homonym seminar in the 1954-1955- and, on the other hand, the notion of Wild Spirit - proposed by Merleau-Ponty in his last notes of work. The general goal of this research is to see in which sens it´s possible to found, since these concepts, an alternative model to think the praxis or political action. In this sens, the Merleau-Ponty´s notion of institution would be connected to the problems of sens´ genesis, transmition and ideality. The first part of the project analyzes and developed, then, the different kinds of concepts and traditions who take part of the notion of institution. The second one, by contrast, developed the notion of Wild Spirit -understood as a new kind of ethical life- to arrive, finally, to the notion of praxis, understood as the solution of the problem of necessity and contingency in the historical sens. (AU)