The empiricism of Michel Serres a theory of the senses between philosophy of science, phenomenology and ethics

In: Filozofija i društvo, Band 32, Heft 2, S. 229-245

Abstract

The paper presents the philosophy of the French philosopher Michel Serres,
with an accent on his working method and unusual methodology. Starting from
the thesis that the empiricist trait of Serres? philosophy remains
underexposed if one simply receives his work as that of a structuralist
epistemologist, Serres? monograph The Five Senses (1985) is then discussed
in more detail. Here we see both a radical empiricism all his own and a
closeness to phenomenology. Nevertheless, perception and language are not
opposed to each other in Serres. Rather, his radical thinking of a
world-relatedness of the bodily senses and an equally consistent
understanding of a sensuality of language - and also of philosophical prose
- are closely intertwined.