Maurice Merleau-Ponty: The World of Perception - Timothy R. Quigley

matter, or smoke, or breath (consistent, in this regard, withprimitive peoples), Descartes showed admirably that spirit issomething altogether different. He demonstrated that itsnature is quite other, for smoke and breath are, in their way,things – even if very subtle ones – whereas spirit is not athing at all, does not occupy space, is not spread over a certainextension as all things are, but on the contrary is entirely compactand indivisible – a being – the essence of which is noneother than to commune with, collect and know itself. Thisgave rise to the concepts of pure spirit and pure matter, orthings. Yet it is clear that I can only find and, so to speak,touch this absolutely pure spirit in myself. Other humanbeings are never pure spirit for me: I only know them throughtheir glances, their gestures, their speech – in other words,through their bodies. Of course another human being is certainlymore than simply a body to me: rather, this other is a bodyanimated by all manner of intentions, the origin of numerousactions and words. These I remember and they go to make upmy sketch of their moral character. Yet I cannot detach someonefrom their silhouette, the tone of their voice and itsaccent. If I see them for even a moment, I can reconnect withthem instantaneously and far more thoroughly than if I wereto go through a list of everything I know about them fromexperience or hearsay. Another person, for us, is a spirit whichman seen from the outside