Beyond a Pathological Outlook? The Plastic Reality of Bodily Phantoms from Merleau-Ponty to Malabou

This paper explores phantom pain sensations. Key questions include why we sense something missing and how to interpret this experience. I discuss Merleau-Ponty’s negative perspective on phantom manifestations and Malabou’s concept of plasticity, which ofers a more neutral view of bodily transformation. Malabou argues that somatic responses to lesions shouldn’t always be seen as pathological, unlike Merleau-Ponty. However, Malabou’s approach may still use similar language, especially concerning severe conditions like Alzheimer’s, where normalcy can’t be fully restored. This leads to a compromised aesthetic experience and limits engagement with the world, indicating a restriction in the understanding of successful aesthetic interaction.