Chapter 1: The Phantom Limb Experience

An amputee reaches out to grab a handle, but finds only emptiness. The familiar sensations and contours of the hand and arm that once defined his interactions with the world have vanished. Yet, curiously, he feels a lingering presence of the lost limb—a ghostly reminder that refuses to fade away. It's as if his body struggles to release its grip on the habits and movements that have shaped his existence.

As he attempts to perform simple tasks like buttoning a shirt or tying shoelaces, the phantom hand mimics these actions, grasping nothingness. This experience transcends mere mental illusion; it embodies his reality, reflecting a profound disruption in his lived experience. The absence of the limb has created a void in his existence, altering the fluidity of his movements and perceptions.

Yet, amid this loss, the amputee learns to adapt, gradually finding new methods to interact with his surroundings. He begins to rely on his remaining limb, integrating innovative tools and techniques into his bodily awareness. This negotiation between absence and presence—a dance between the memories of past embodiment and the potential of future adaptation—illuminates the resilience and adaptability of human consciousness.

Merleau-Ponty, in his seminal work "The Phenomenology of Perception" (1945), emphasizes the significance of the body in understanding these experiences. He introduces the idea of "phenomenal disorders," with the phantom limb phenomenon being a primary example where individuals perceive a lost limb as still present. Merleau-Ponty critiques previous investigations into this phenomenon, categorizing them into two broad approaches: (1) Empiricism & physiology and (2) intellectualism & psychology.

He argues that both perspectives, whether considered separately or combined, inadequately address the complexities of such disorders. Instead, Merleau-Ponty advocates for an understanding rooted in the concept of being-in-the-world—a pre-reflective, embodied engagement that transcends the traditional subject-object dichotomy. Through a phenomenological lens, we can gain insights into our existence by examining these deficiencies and challenging existing explanations for various disorders.

The phantom limb phenomenon is intricately linked to Merleau-Ponty’s notions of perception and motor intentionality, encapsulated in his idea of the "intentional arc." For Merleau-Ponty, perception is not a passive reception of sensory input but an active, embodied interaction with the world, shaped by our skills, habits, and goals.

Our body serves as the foundation of our experience, a means through which we engage with the world. The "intentional arc" connects our past experiences, skills, and intentions, influencing our current perceptions and actions. In the case of the phantom limb, this arc becomes disrupted, as the amputee's habitual way of interacting with the world, which included the missing limb, continues to project forward, creating the phantom's ambiguous presence.

Chapter 2: The Shortcomings of Traditional Explanations

Merleau-Ponty critiques the two prevalent explanations for the phantom limb phenomenon: the empirical/physiological approach, which seeks to analyze it solely through the lens of the body, and the psychological approach, which emphasizes the mind while neglecting the body.

He finds the physiological approach inadequate, as it fails to account for the inseparability of the body and mind. The mere existence of nerve signals from the actual limb cannot fully explain the phenomenon. The experience of the phantom limb occurs within consciousness, highlighting the necessity of psychological factors in understanding it.

Merleau-Ponty contends that "a collection of cerebral traces could not represent the relations of consciousness that intervene in the phenomenon." From a scientific perspective, the neural correlates of consciousness remain elusive, leading Merleau-Ponty to reject the notion that we are "nothing but a pack of neurons."

Psychological elements, such as emotions, memories, and the circumstances surrounding the amputation, play a vital role in shaping the experience of the phantom limb. The empirical analysis often overlooks these factors, as it remains on a third-person level and fails to capture the richness of lived experience.

While he acknowledges that physiology has relevance in the context of limb amputation, Merleau-Ponty stresses that similar phenomena can occur in individuals who have not undergone amputation, further complicating the physiological explanation.

He critiques the psychological approach for similarly neglecting the body. The intellectualist perspective reduces the phantom limb to a mere mental disorder, disregarding the physiological realities that contribute to its existence. If the phantom limb were merely a psychological issue, the physical amputation would be inconsequential, which is not the case.

The critique of both explanations leads to a realization that a psychophysiological approach might seem plausible; however, Merleau-Ponty argues that these two inquiries remain fundamentally incompatible. Bridging the gap requires a common ground, which is difficult to establish between the physiological and psychological realms.

Any attempt to reconcile the two perspectives often results in confusion. For example, psychology may interpret the phantom limb as a representation of absence, while physiology may consider it as a presence of representation. This stark opposition illustrates the limitations of both approaches.

Merleau-Ponty further develops this idea through his existential analysis, asserting that "the phantom arm is not a representation of the arm but rather the ambivalent presence of an arm." This highlights the directness of our engagement with the world, which transcends mere representation.

Chapter 3: Finding Common Ground

Nonetheless, Merleau-Ponty suggests that there must be a common ground between psychology and physiology, as physiological occurrences often correspond with psychological experiences. He identifies this shared foundation as being in the world, an active, pre-objective engagement with our surroundings.

The concept of the intentional arc serves as a framework for understanding this connection. It weaves together our varied experiences and actions, allowing for coherence in our sensory and motor functions, as well as in our past experiences and future aspirations. In cases of phantom limbs, the intentional arc remains intact, projecting the actions and experiences associated with the missing limb.

Merleau-Ponty notes that individuals with phantom limbs often display denial regarding their amputation. He states, "Subjects who systematically ignore their right hand, and who rather offer their left hand when they have been asked for their right, nevertheless speak of their paralyzed arm as a 'long and cold serpent', which excludes the hypothesis of a genuine anesthesia and suggests the hypothesis of a refusal of the deficiency."

This refusal is not solely psychological; it is ontological, rooted in our fundamental nature as beings-in-the-world. Before the amputation, the amputee's engagement with reality was always mediated by the presence of the limb. Following the loss, the world they once knew no longer phenomenally belongs to them, and the practical significance of the limb has shifted.

However, the persistence of the intentional arc allows for an understanding of this ontological refusal. The amputee's previous way of being, which included the missing limb, is not abruptly erased. Their perceptual and motor habits continue to anticipate the limb's presence and functionality, even in its absence. The world still appears to them as one that includes the limb, as their embodied existence has been shaped around its presence for so long.

Despite the limb's absence, its significance is retained to some extent; otherwise, the phantom limb phenomenon would not occur. The amputee clings to the significance and manner in which they previously engaged with the world—the familiarity of their prior existence—due to their ambivalence in facing their new reality. This is not merely a memory or representation; it is an ambivalent presence of the limb. The denial of loss plays a crucial role in conjuring this presence.

Merleau-Ponty draws a parallel with the experience of losing a friend, suggesting that pareidolia—a phenomenon where one perceives familiar faces in strangers—can manifest as a reflection of profound human loneliness. This phenomenon may intensify following the death of a friend, mirroring the refusal to accept the loss of the social world once engaged with.

The phantom limb serves as a refusal to accept the loss of an experiential world, while pareidolia represents the denial of the absence of a social world. Both phenomena reveal how our habitual ways of engaging with the world are disrupted, leading us to project the presence of what is now missing.

Examining the phantom limb alongside other existential disorders elucidates that we are inherently creatures of signification. Our continuous engagement with a familiar world is vital. When this familiarity is disrupted, ambiguity regarding our place in the world arises, resulting in the ambivalent presence of significations that no longer exist.

Chapter 4: Acceptance and New Habits

The exploration of remedies for these existential disorders leads to the acceptance of one’s new reality. The phantom limb phenomenon does not occur in individuals who have fully embraced their injury and adapted to their new circumstances. Merleau-Ponty asserts, "Thus, by renouncing a part of his spontaneity, by engaging in the world through stable organs and preestablished circuits, man can acquire the mental and practical space that will free him, in principle, from his milieu and thereby allow him to see it."

This acceptance can manifest through the acquisition of new habits, extending beyond physical adaptation to encompass a deeper engagement with the world's significations. Merleau-Ponty states, "The body is not an object for an 'I think': it is a totality of lived significations that moves towards its equilibrium." The amputee who adapts by using a prosthetic limb, or an individual who cherishes existing relationships while forming new ones after a friend’s loss, can achieve equilibrium through this process.

Accepting new habits can be viewed as a reconfiguration of the intentional arc. By letting go of old ways of being and engaging with the world through new means, the amputee can gradually reshape their perceptual and motor intentionality to align with their new reality. This process is not merely intellectual but deeply embodied, involving the adjustment of one's postural schema and bodily habits.

Merleau-Ponty’s examination of the phantom limb critiques traditional theories of perception and embodiment while presenting a positive vision of the human subject as an embodied being engaged with the world. The phantom limb phenomenon reveals the profound depth of our bodily existence, shaped by our histories and habitual actions, while also illuminating the potential for reshaping our intentional arc amidst disruption and loss.

References

Crick, Francis. The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.

Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. Phenomenology of Perception. Translated by Donald A. Landes. London: Routledge, 2012.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra. In The Portable Nietzsche, translated and edited by Walter Kaufmann, 103–439. New York: Viking Press, 1954.