SOURCE: Bannan, John. F. “Merleau-Ponty on God.” International Philosophical Quarterly 6, no. 3 (September 1966): 341-65.

In the following essay, Bannan discusses Merleau-Ponty's attempts to reconcile religion with philosophy.

“It is characteristic of man to think God, but this does not mean that God exists.”¹ Like Descartes, Merleau-Ponty finds himself with the idea of God. He finds it when he takes an inventory of consciousness, where it stems in some way from the latter's objectivist behavior, always a central philosophical concern for him. He also finds it when he takes an inventory of his time, where it is part of the historical reality of religion. Though he does not give the question of God the lengthy and detailed treatment which he devotes to perception, language and history, Merleau-Ponty does touch upon it with surprising frequency during his career,² at one time emphasizing the philosophical issue, and at another the religious, while...