Wild Being, between Ontology and Politics: Merleau-Ponty, Lefort, Castoriadis

In: International journal of social imaginaries, Volume 1, Issue 1, p. 84-106

Abstract

Abstract
This essay considers the philosophical implications and the political ramifications of the dispute between Lefort and Castoriadis. It argues that the meaning of the conflict is best captured through consideration of Merleau-Ponty's notion of wild being as it appears in his later thought. It considers Merleau-Ponty's varying influence on Castoriadis and Lefort's respective trajectories and explores how their different approaches to ontology plays out to the response to the problematic of the political. Whilst both Castoriadis and Lefort pursue a non-foundationalist ontology, they differ on the issue of the origin of nomos, and their different interpretations of—and break with—Marx leads to significantly different conclusions about the prospect of society and autonomy.