Merleau-Ponty and Buber on seeing and not seeing the Other: inclusion and exclusion in education

Abstract

Merleau-Ponty's theory of ‘embodiment’, of the body as mediator of the world, has been very influential in philosophical and educational circles. This is to say, according to the theory of ‘embodiment’, the body is central to one's ‘understanding’ of the world, to one's engagement with Others, as well as to one's self-transformation. As such, a fundamental question arises: what are the implications for the individual's interaction with Others when one of the body's senses, such as sight, is impaired in one way or another? In this article, we engage with this question by way of focusing on the issue of blindness and how it affects one's interation with the Other. Following from this, we will propose that ‘dialogical education’ as conceived by Martin Buber is a powerful tool in breaching the gap that very often exists between non-sighted and sighted individuals. In so doing, we also provide a justification and an approach advancing inclusive education.

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