Advanced Phenomenology and Relational Ontology of Merleau-Ponty

Despite the mid-20th century vintage of Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy, its long-time neglect and its dense, complicated and at times elusive idioms, it continues to offer promising resources and insights for numerous contemporary concerns, including life-worlds and research on them. His philosophy also has a power to alleviate lingering problems in social and organizational science and practices. His approach opens new vistas, avenues and expressions for a more integral thinking — living and even ‘singing the world’ (Merleau-Ponty, 1952: 187) of phenomena in organizations. Merleau-Ponty serves as an inspirational source for deepening interrogative inquiries and the much-needed work of renewing our connections with organizing in the world. Importantly, Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology facilitates the embracing of being as an integral one, of remaining alive and sensitive to being in and with the world and each other as well as celebrating the creative, transformative powers of thought, language and philosophy (Hass, 2008: 9). This understanding of an integral being is bridging the divide between ‘subject’ and ‘object’, self and world without effacing the differences between them. In this way, Merleau-Ponty’s advanced phenomenology and relational ontology provide a dynamic base or medium for developing a post-Cartesian approach and science.