ABSTRACT
The phenomenological approach to madness begins by viewing the human as a unity, an indivisible being that cannot be reduced to its parts. After introducing this through the eyes of Aristotle, I turn to Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenology of Perception and detail how the human as a whole relies on the pre-rational in everyday experiences, such as jerking the knee, driving a car or enjoying a work of art. The ability to do things without thinking or pre-rationally is integral to all human experience, whether considered normal or abnormal, and part of the common way that we live in the world.
