“Joi” Human existence without body: Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s Phenomenological Analysis

Abstract

This article looks into the starting point of mind-body problem as one of the most significant problems in philosophy. René Descartes declared “I think, therefore I am.” This defined human as thinking thing and, consequently, gives priority to mind than body. Descartes remarks that acquiring data from sensation body was mistake. Acquiring data through from body is not constant, so the sensational body is less absolute than the mind. In addition, the study presents Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s notion of sense. It states that perceptions are matter to explanation for human existence. Bodily consciousness is connatural between human and world. Human is related to the world in the form of living or inhabit. Body in Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s perspective is body as subject (or body-subject) which has as much significant as mind. Merleau-Ponty thinks of body as matter. An interesting question is that if there is existence without physical body, can we call this existence as human being? Finally, this article explores the character named Joi in Blade Runner 2049 to analyse Joi's existence according to Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological concept. Based on the story in this film, Joi is a hologram that tries to act and express real human being. The article argues Joi that exists without physical body cannot exist as human being according to Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenological concept. Because the existence as a hologram without a physical body, Joi itself is an unconscious artificial thing. Joi lacks the connection between the world and itself. As a result, Joi was unable to learn to live as a human being and to have no awareness of both itself and the world.