Maine de Biran e la percezione dello spazio. Il ruolo del tatto e del senso muscolare

The aim of this paper is to analyze Maine de Biran’s position on the perception of space. While in the various studies devoted to Biran’s thought it is not uncommon to find analyses of his theory of touch, it is rather difficult to find insights into his conception of spatial perception. The purpose of this article is therefore to revisit the theme of touch in Biran, but to place it within a different interpretive framework, that of spatial perception and of Molyneux problem. Such a thematic repositioning has several advantages. Not only does it allow Biran’s name to be included in a history of the reception of the Molyneux problem that has so far failed to take into account the role of his reflections in this debate, but it also makes it possible to address certain aspects of Biran’s philosophy – such as the problem of the innate or acquired origin of knowledge, the question of the relationship between visual and tactile data, and the question of the transition from the corps vivant to the corps propre – that have often been overlooked.