To what extent can meaning be attributed to nature, and what is the relationship between such “natural sense”and the meaning of linguistic and artistic expressions? To shed light on such questions, this essay lays the groundworkfor an “ontology ofsense ” drawing on the insights of phenomenology and Merleau-Ponty’s theory of expression. We
argue that the ontological continuity of organic life with the perceived world of nature requires situating sense at a level that is morefundamental than has traditionaly been recognized. Accounting for the genesis of this primordial sense and the teleology of expressive forms requires the development of an ontology ofbeing as interrogation, as suggested by Merleau-Ponty’s later investigations.
