Key Arguments

• He describes Schneider's incapacity for 'abstract' movements: the patient 'is incapable of performing “abstract” movements with his eyes closed, namely, movements that are not directed at any actual situation, such as moving his arms or legs upon command, or extending and flexing a finger. He cannot describe the position of his body or even of his head, nor the passive movements of his limbs.'
• Schneider also shows severe deficits in tactile localization and form recognition in the abstract: 'when his head, arm, or leg is touched, he cannot say at what point his body was touched; he does not distinguish between two points of contact on his skin, even if they are 80 millimeters apart; he recognizes neither the size nor the form of objects pressed against his body.'
• However, these abilities partially return when the movements and localizations are embedded in a practical, visible context: 'He only accomplishes abstract movements if he is allowed to see the limb in question, or to execute preparatory movements involving his whole body. The localization of stimuli and the recognition of tactile objects also become possible with the aid of preparatory movements.'
• Despite his failures on abstract tasks, Schneider functions efficiently in his habitual milieu: 'Even with his eyes closed, the patient executes the movements that are necessary for life with extraordinary speed and confidence, provided they are habitual movements: he takes his handkerchief from his pocket and blows his nose, or takes a match from a matchbox and lights a lamp. He makes wallets by trade, and the output of his' (the text continues beyond the excerpt).
• The contrast between failed 'on command' movements and successful habitual actions indicates that motricity is fundamentally organized by concrete situations and tasks rather than by an abstract representation of body position.

Source Quotes

Let us examine closely a case of morbid motricity that lays bare the fundamental relations between the body and space. [b. The analysis of motricity in Gelb and Goldstein’s study of Schneider.] One patient,12 whom traditional psychiatry would class among those suffering from psychic blindness, is incapable of performing “abstract” movements with his eyes closed, namely, movements that are not directed at any actual situation, such as moving his arms or legs upon command, or extending and flexing a finger. He cannot describe the position of his body or even of his head, nor the passive movements of his limbs.

The analysis of motricity in Gelb and Goldstein’s study of Schneider.] One patient,12 whom traditional psychiatry would class among those suffering from psychic blindness, is incapable of performing “abstract” movements with his eyes closed, namely, movements that are not directed at any actual situation, such as moving his arms or legs upon command, or extending and flexing a finger. He cannot describe the position of his body or even of his head, nor the passive movements of his limbs. Finally, when his head, arm, or leg is touched, he cannot say at what point his body was touched; he does not distinguish between two points of contact on his skin, even if they are 80 millimeters apart; he recognizes neither the size nor the form of objects pressed against his body.

He cannot describe the position of his body or even of his head, nor the passive movements of his limbs. Finally, when his head, arm, or leg is touched, he cannot say at what point his body was touched; he does not distinguish between two points of contact on his skin, even if they are 80 millimeters apart; he recognizes neither the size nor the form of objects pressed against his body. He only accomplishes abstract movements if he is allowed to see the limb in question, or to execute preparatory movements involving his whole body.

Finally, when his head, arm, or leg is touched, he cannot say at what point his body was touched; he does not distinguish between two points of contact on his skin, even if they are 80 millimeters apart; he recognizes neither the size nor the form of objects pressed against his body. He only accomplishes abstract movements if he is allowed to see the limb in question, or to execute preparatory movements involving his whole body. The localization of stimuli and the recognition of tactile objects also become possible with the aid of preparatory movements. Even with his eyes closed, the patient executes the movements that are necessary for life with extraordinary speed and confidence, provided they are habitual movements: he takes his handkerchief from his pocket and blows his nose, or takes a match from a matchbox and lights a lamp.

The localization of stimuli and the recognition of tactile objects also become possible with the aid of preparatory movements. Even with his eyes closed, the patient executes the movements that are necessary for life with extraordinary speed and confidence, provided they are habitual movements: he takes his handkerchief from his pocket and blows his nose, or takes a match from a matchbox and lights a lamp. He makes wallets by trade, and the output of his

Key Concepts

• is incapable of performing “abstract” movements with his eyes closed, namely, movements that are not directed at any actual situation, such as moving his arms or legs upon command, or extending and flexing a finger.
• He cannot describe the position of his body or even of his head, nor the passive movements of his limbs.
• he does not distinguish between two points of contact on his skin, even if they are 80 millimeters apart; he recognizes neither the size nor the form of objects pressed against his body.
• He only accomplishes abstract movements if he is allowed to see the limb in question, or to execute preparatory movements involving his whole body. The localization of stimuli and the recognition of tactile objects also become possible with the aid of preparatory movements.
• Even with his eyes closed, the patient executes the movements that are necessary for life with extraordinary speed and confidence, provided they are habitual movements: he takes his handkerchief from his pocket and blows his nose, or takes a match from a matchbox and lights a lamp. He makes wallets by trade, and the output of his

Context

Beginning of subsection [b. The analysis of motricity in Gelb and Goldstein’s study of Schneider.], where Merleau-Ponty presents the clinical description of Schneider’s deficits in abstract movement and tactile localization, contrasted with his preserved habitual actions, as an empirical basis for his later phenomenological analysis of motricity and spatiality.