2

I have been going back through every note and flagged book I have and trying every search term combination to try to find the source of a quote or passage that noted the concept that 'vision is to touch with the gaze.' It may not be an exact quote but it was something almost verbatim that I think was either in Sartre or Merleau-Ponty... There are a lot of writings that touch on similar ideas but do not directly address the idea of vision as an extension of a kind of psuedo-tactile experience. Any source would be greatly appreciated.

J D
  • 26,214
  • 3
  • 23
  • 98
JAndrews
  • 21
  • 1

1 Answers1

2

In Phenomenology of Perception, Merleau-Ponty says that vision is not (merely) a passive process of receiving information from the world, but an active engagement with it.

[The gaze] is a way of touching the world and it can caress or bruise, wound or heal.

Rushi
  • 2,637
  • 2
  • 7
  • 28