The Human Chair - Merleau-Ponty's Monstrous Object

What happens when a furniture craftsman transforms himself into the very chair he creates? In this episode, I dive deep into Edogawa Ranpo's haunting 1925 story "The Human Chair" through the lens of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of perception.

00:00 - Introduction
00:25 - Start
03:11 - The Crisis of Embodiment
05:46 - The Reconstruction of the Body Schema
08:38 - The Pathology of Intersubjectivity
15:34 - Sexuality and the Problem of Incarnate Desire
19:28 - The Question of Expression and Recognition
22:05 - The Letter as Embodied Expression
23:56 - The Horror of Recognition

This is a philosophical exploration of what it means to be embodied, to encounter others, and to exist in a shared world. Ranpo's grotesque tale becomes a thought experiment that illuminates fundamental questions about consciousness, embodiment, and the structures that make human connection possible.

I'll explore how the protagonist's radical transformation of his body schema represents both an extreme incorporation of tools into the self and a pathological withdrawal from intersubjective life. From synesthetic perception to the temporal dimensions of habituation, from the crisis of recognition to the violence hidden within intimate contact—this story reveals the shadow side of embodied existence.
Whether you're interested in continental philosophy, Japanese literature, horror fiction, or the intersection of all three, this analysis reveals how a seemingly bizarre tale can illuminate the deepest structures of human experience.

#merleau-ponty #phenomenology #ranpoedogawa #thehumanchair

📚 Recommended Reading:
"The Human Chair" by Edogawa Ranpo
"Phenomenology of Perception" by Maurice Merleau-Ponty
Junji Itō's manga adaptation (after reading the original!)

💭 What is your favorite horror story, dealing with fundamental philosophical problems?

Let me know in the comments!