ABSTRACT The unexpected invention of a game with my grandchildren provided a new way of thinking about the nature of such unpredictable moments in therapy. The experience brought together a number of ideas, considered through the view of language taken by Merleau-Ponty where the chaotic primitive layers that pervade language are seen as having primacy over the rules of linguistics such as those set out by Saussure. Saussure is seen as providing a way of understanding linguistic structure whilst at the same time opening a number of ambiguities that then allow a way for thinking about language differently through Merleau-Ponty’s emphasis on the usage of language (la parole) as opposed the structural aspects of language (la langue). Initially, Winnicott’s ideas around the ‘spontaneous gesture’ are utilised to help show how this kind of unpredictable expression appears as something alive. Merleau-Ponty then shows how language as gestural phenomena takes hold of us through our bodies. Further questions then arise about the method in therapeutic practice and research. Here, it is argued that when the method is given primacy over experience, we are in a position that seeks the already known, which will not, therefore, permit some new expression to break through.

中文翻译：

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梅洛-庞蒂的语言作为手势：对治疗实践和研究方法的一些启示

摘要 与我的孙子们玩游戏的意外发明提供了一种新的方式来思考治疗中这种不可预测的时刻的性质。这段经历汇集了许多想法，通过梅洛-庞蒂所采取的语言观点来考虑，其中弥漫在语言中的混乱原始层被视为优先于语言学规则，例如索绪尔提出的规则。索绪尔被视为提供了一种理解语言结构的方式，同时打开了许多歧义，然后通过梅洛 - 庞蒂强调语言的使用（la parole）而不是结构方面，从而允许以不同的方式思考语言语言（la langue）。原来，温尼科特围绕“自发手势”的想法被用来帮助展示这种不可预测的表情如何看起来像活物。梅洛-庞蒂随后展示了语言作为手势现象是如何通过我们的身体控制我们的。然后出现关于治疗实践和研究中的方法的进一步问题。在这里，有人认为，当方法优先于经验时，我们处于寻求已知的位置，因此，这将不允许某些新的表达方式突破。