Full Idea
I do not have one perception, then another, and between them a link brought about by the mind. Rather, each perspective merges into the other [against a unified background].
Gist of Idea
The mind does not unite perceptions, because they flow into one another
Source
Maurice Merleau-Ponty (Phenomenology of Perception [1945], p.329-30), quoted by Kevin Aho - Existentialism: an introduction 3 'Perceptual'
Book Reference
Aho,Kevin: 'Existentialism: an introduction' [Polity 2014], p.41
A Reaction
I take this to be another piece of evidence pointing to realism as the best explanation of experience. A problem for Descartes is what unites the sequence of thoughts.
Related Idea
Idea 5188 A thought doesn't imply other thoughts, or enough thoughts to make up a self [Ayer on Descartes]