ABSTRACT Objective: To elaborate a reflection on the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty and her contributions to nursing research. Methods: This is a reflective theoretical study based on one of Merleau-Ponty's works and recent scientific literature on the subject. Results and discussion: Three themes were developed that combine the contribution of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology, starting from the central concepts of philosophy and nursing care. The approach to the body not only from a biological expression, but from the phenomenology of the lived body provides (...) an existentialist vision of the understanding of the human being immersed in the world and its relations with holistic care. Final considerations: Merleau-Ponty's philosophical reference is very useful in the generation of nursing knowledge, constituting a support for phenomenological research since it allows the understanding of the subjective phenomena of care through the body. (shrink)

In Jan Patočka’s phenomenology of intersubjectivity one can find clear influences of Merleau-Ponty. By both philosophers intersubjectivity is seen as a form of reversibility that has a primacy above personal subjectivity. But Patočka adds to this idea of reversibility the notion of surrender or dedication. In this article it is demonstrated how Patočka’s conception on surrender is developed in his idea of the three movements of human existence. Moreover, the understanding of intersubjectivity through surrender is presented as an important step (...) towards an answer to several points of critique on Merleau-Ponty’s views on intersubjectivity, that were brought to the fore by Claude Lefort. Finally, in this article several aspects of surrender are distinguished in order to give more insight in the functioning and effects of the third movement of human life. (shrink)

Researching two different work settings, police work and hospice care, the authors experienced a strange sense of discomfort in their bodies during their fieldwork when investigating professional training and work situations, especially in encounters with citizens and patients. In some of those situations, the authors withdrew physically or mentally from the situation without wanting to do so, feeling emotionally affected by the uncertainty of the situations, not fully grasping the meaning of what was going on. In a strange way they (...) felt awkwardly detached from their research activities and their bodily involvement in their fieldwork. In this article, the authors seek to explore the meaning of awkwardness embedded in some kinds of ethical dilemma. Through a phenomenological analysis based on the concept of intentionality of the body and a model of inner dilemmas, they reach a renewed understanding on the phenomenon of awkwardness as a natural way for researchers to respond to challenging fieldwork situations. Finally, they propose and unfold mutual interviewing and cooperative analysis as methods of investigating researcher's subjectivity in facing such situations. (shrink)