Journal of Ritual Culture and Literature

Journal of Ritual Culture and Literature

Explanation of ritual performances based on Merleau-Ponty's philosophy of phenomenology

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 PHD student of art research at the University of Tarbiat Modarres
2 Assistant professor at Department of Art, University of Tarbiat Modarres
3 Assistant Professor, Department of art research, Faculty of Arts and Architecture,Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
In this article, while discussing the philosophy of phenomenology, we provide the basis for explaining the intellectual foundations and philosophical thoughts of Merleau-Ponty in explaining rituals and religious performances. This article will analyze and scrutinize the phenomenological philosophy and philosophical concepts of Merleau-Ponty and his intellectual system as the theoretical framework of the research with the descriptive-analytical method and using library resources and reliable internet databases, the approach and theoretical framework of this research is phenomenology in general and Maurice Merleau-Ponty's embodied phenomenology in particular. The purpose of this article is to explain Merleau-Ponty's intellectual foundations based on the philosophy of phenomenology, and it seeks to answer the question of how to provide a suitable basis for the study, explanation and analysis of ritual performances based on the concepts of Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology. The results of the findings based on the aforementioned concepts indicate that the process of communication finds a ritual process of existence through the continuous and continuous and intertwined participation and interaction of all subjects-objects as a part of the immediate existence of the living world; A thing that is based on the lived experience of the self-other and through their immediate presence in the lived world of religion is realized; A situation that is realized through encountering an unknown other and physical interaction and communication with him in the context of religious rituals; An encounter that is made meaningful by the intersubjective communication between all the subjects-objects present in the space/place of the ritual event.
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  • Receive Date 24 October 2025
  • Revise Date 01 February 2026
  • Accept Date 15 February 2026
  • Publish Date 21 March 2026