Leading scholars explore the later thought of Merleau-Ponty and its central role in the modernism-postmodernism debate.

Some of the best interpretations and evaluations of Merleau-Ponty's innovative notions of chiasm and flesh are presented here by prominent scholars from the United States and Europe. Divided into three sections, the book first establishes the notion of the flesh as a consistent concept and unfolds the nuances of flesh that make it a compelling idea. The second section adds to the force of this idea by showing how flesh can be extended to phenomena that Merleau-Ponty was not able to treat, such as the internet and virtual reality, and the third offers criticisms of Merleau-Ponty from feminist and Levinasian points of view. All the essays attest to the fecundity of Merleau-Ponty's later thought for such central philosophical issues as the bonds between self, others, and the world.

Contributors include Renaud Barbaras, Mauro Carbone, Edward S. Casey, Suzanne L. Cataldi, Tina Chanter, Françoise Dastur, Jean Greisch, Lawrence Hass, Marjorie Hass, James Hatley, Henri Maldiney, Linda Martin Alcoff, Berhard Waldenfels, Gail Weiss, Hugh J. Silverman, and Edith Wyschogrod.