--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This is an encounter between the human…" description: "\"“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”\" — Maurice Merleau-Ponty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg" --- # This is an encounter between the human and the non-human… ![“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.” quote by Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg) > ““This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”” [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human experience is intertwined with non-human elements, revealing that the world’s behavior is reflected in our own actions and perceptions. **In simple terms:** We interact with the world, shaping each other. Key Takeaway Observe how environment influences behavior. Themes interconnectedness perception ontology Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical theoretical When to use this quote - urban living - digital interfaces - artistic creation Key Concepts embodiment ecology philosophy of mind Questions to Reflect On - How does technology alter our perception? - What non-human forces shape daily life? A Different Perspective Non-human agency can be abstract and hard to measure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encounter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) ## Related quotes > [When white and black meet today, sometimes there is a ready understanding that there has been an encounter between two human beings. 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We were given a place in the creation, with a beauty beyond telling, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jensen/this-is-the-simple-discovery-which-we-must-confront-we-were-given-a/) [Robert Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jensen/) > [Nature is not silent, and never was a name more derisively inappropriate than when we speak of these non-human creatures who hoot and crow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/nature-is-not-silent-and-never-was-a-name-more-derisively/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [I love that India has declared dolphins non-human people with all laws that apply to human. I'm fascinated with the alien-ness of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-fuller/i-love-that-india-has-declared-dolphins-non-human-people-with-all/) [Bryan Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-fuller/) > [“Oh my god! Madison, what is with you and non-human guys?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-colyer/oh-my-god-madison-what-is-with-you-and-non-human-guys/) [Cherie Colyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-colyer/) > [One cannot distinguish between human and non-human acts. One cannot point, one cannot say this man here is a man and that man there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/one-cannot-distinguish-between-human-and-non-human-acts-one-cannot/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [When I was between 2 and 3 years old, I got to know my first non-human being. The non-human was a cocker spaniel named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/when-i-was-between-2-and-3-years-old-i-got-to-know-my-first-non-human/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [Man must move to things, to non-human matter- There is nowhere else to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-hooton/man-must-move-to-things-to-non-human-matter-there-is-nowhere-else-to/) [Harry Hooton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-hooton/) > [There it is, the sea, the most incomprehensible of non-human existences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarice-lispector/there-it-is-the-sea-the-most-incomprehensible-of-non-human-existences/) [Clarice Lispector](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarice-lispector/) ## More by Maurice Merleau-Ponty > [Science manipulates things and gives up living in them. It makes its own limited models of things; operating upon these indices or variables to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/science-manipulates-things-and-gives-up-living-in-them-it-makes-its/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The unfinished nature of phenomenology and the inchoate style in which it proceeds are not the signs of failure; they were inevitable because phenomenology’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-unfinished-nature-of-phenomenology-and-the-inchoate-style-in/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We should be sensitive to the thread of silence from which the tissue of speech is woven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-should-be-sensitive-to-the-thread-of-silence-from-which-the-tissue/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Man is hidden, well hidden, & this time we must make no mistake about it: this does not mean that he is there beneath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/man-is-hidden-well-hidden-this-time-we-must-make-no-mistake-about-it/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There is no universal clock, but local histories take form beneath our eyes, and begin to regulate themselves, and haltingly are linked to one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-is-no-universal-clock-but-local-histories-take-form-beneath-our/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We know not through our intellect but through our experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-know-not-through-our-intellect-but-through-our-experience/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“There are several ways for a body to be a body, and several ways for consciousness to be consciousness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/there-are-several-ways-for-a-body-to-be-a-body-and-several-ways-for/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“We do not have the right to level out all experience into a single world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/we-do-not-have-the-right-to-level-out-all-experience-into-a-single/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The world and reason are not problems; and though we might call them mysterious, this mystery is essential to them, there can be no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-world-and-reason-are-not-problems-and-though-we-might-call-them/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Memory is the irruption of other things in us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/memory-is-the-irruption-of-other-things-in-us/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Expression is like a step taken in the fog--no one can say where, if anywhere, it will lead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/expression-is-like-a-step-taken-in-the-fog-no-one-can-say-where-if/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Any commemoration is also a betrayal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/any-commemoration-is-also-a-betrayal/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [The full meaning of a language is never translatable into another. We may speak several languages but one of them always remains the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-full-meaning-of-a-language-is-never-translatable-into-another-we/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [ Our view of man will remain superficial so long as we fail to go back to that origin \[of silence\], so long as we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/our-view-of-man-will-remain-superficial-so-long-as-we-fail-to-go-back/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“Said by whom? Said to whom? Not by a mind to a mind, but by a being who has body and language to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/said-by-whom-said-to-whom-not-by-a-mind-to-a-mind-but-by-a-being-who/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) [Explore all 145 Maurice Merleau-Ponty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) ## More Encounter quotes > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [A crisis is a close encounter of the third kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-finley/a-crisis-is-a-close-encounter-of-the-third-kind/) [Guy Finley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-finley/) > [The impulse to paint comes neither from observation nor from the soul (which is probably blind) but from an encounter: the encounter between painter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-impulse-to-paint-comes-neither-from-observation-nor-from-the-soul/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [“An “event” is something that happens that does not quite fit into our established system of knowledge, and so it will appear to us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-t-conard/an-event-is-something-that-happens-that-does-not-quite-fit-into-our/) Mark T. Conard > [I've just grown up a lot and started to encounter some of the big decisions of life in terms of what career I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-norris/i-ve-just-grown-up-a-lot-and-started-to-encounter-some-of-the-big/) [Lee Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-norris/) > [An encounter with god or with the transcendent, per se, can only occur when we experience the violent side of god.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-encounter-with-god-or-with-the-transcendent-per-se-can-only-occur/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“With every new encounter with God your vision becomes clearer and sharper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/with-every-new-encounter-with-god-your-vision-becomes-clearer-and/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A full-blooded encounter for a number of reasons, many of them illegitimate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-champion/a-full-blooded-encounter-for-a-number-of-reasons-many-of-them/) [Jon Champion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-champion/) > [To every soul you encounter, be a mirror, which reflects only their beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-every-soul-you-encounter-be-a-mirror-which-reflects-only-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Is this the truth of our historic encounter?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/is-this-the-truth-of-our-historic-encounter/) [Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/) > [Generally speaking, moving water is the most dangerous thing you can encounter underground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-stone/generally-speaking-moving-water-is-the-most-dangerous-thing-you-can/) [William Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-stone/) > [Anytime you have a difficult encounter with your child, there is a good chance that at least one of these factors is bringing out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/anytime-you-have-a-difficult-encounter-with-your-child-there-is-a/) [Cathy Rindner Tempelsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-rindner-tempelsman/) > [“Let us find inner freedom in each lucky moment that we encounter, like a sun-basking butterfly that finds peace on a cherry blossom petal.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/let-us-find-inner-freedom-in-each-lucky-moment-that-we-encounter-like/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [ Faith is above all a personal, intimate encounter with Jesus, and to experience \[His\] closeness, \[His\] friendship, \[His\] Love; only in this way does… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/faith-is-above-all-a-personal-intimate-encounter-with-jesus-and-to/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) [Browse all 266 Encounter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Encounter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88c/maurice-merleau-ponty-2834_encounter_this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-a_209374.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This is an encounter between the human and the non-human, it is something like a behavior of the world.” — Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maurice Merleau-Ponty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This is an encounter between the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/this-is-an-encounter-between-the-human-and-the-non-human-it-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```