Solitude and communication cannot be the two horns of a dilemma, but two «moments» of one phenomenon, since in fact other people do exist for me. We must say of experience of others what we have said elsewhere about reflection: that its object cannot escape it entirely, since we have a notion of the object only through that experience. Reflection must in some way present the unreflected, otherwise we should have nothing to set over against it, and it would not become a problem for us. Similarly my experience must in some way present me with oher people, since otherwise I should have no occasion to speak of solitude, and could not begin to pronounce other people inaccessible. What is given and initially true, is a reflection open to the unreflective, the reflective assumption of the unreflective - and similarly there is given the tension of my experience towards another whose existence on the horizon of my life is beyond doubt, even when my knowledge of him is imperfect. (Maurice Merleau-Ponty)
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 13:34:46 +0000
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