Is materialism right to claim that the world of everyday-life experience – the phenomenal world – is nothing but an illusion produced in physical reality, notably in the brain? Or is Merleau-Ponty right when he defends the fundamental character of the phenomenal world while rejecting physical realism? I address these questions by exploring the nature of the body proper in Merleau-Ponty and Plessner, arguing that physical and phenomenal realism are not mutually exclusive but complementary. The argument includes a close examination (...) of the relationships between scientific and pre-scientific perspectives, between living and non-living things, and between humans and animals. (shrink)

F. J. J.Buytendijk died on October 21st 1974 at the age of 87. His important contribution to the study of animal behaviour is analyzed here in relation to the historical development of animal psychology and ethology. The detailed study of his scientific production suggests, according to the authors, that some important findings, although largely not paid attention to in present-day literature, are akin to the conceptual and methodological evolution of comparative ethology.

Stellt man die Frage nach der Relation von Körpern und Räumen, so wirft man viele, gerade auch definitorische Fragen auf, denen man sich durch verschiedene disziplinäre Perspektiven annehmen und annähern kann. Sobald man es sich aber zur Forschungsaufgabe macht, den lebendigen Körper im Raum, als Raum und/ oder außerhalb des Raums zu befragen, legt sich in den Geistes- und Naturwissenschaften eine besonders komplexe Aufgabe frei, die vor allem in der philosophischen Anthropologie des 20. Jahrhunderts vor dem Hintergrund der historisch bedingten (...) veränderten Blickweise auf den Menschen neue Betrachtung fand. (shrink)