A Commentary on Gabriel Marcel's The Mystery of Being
Author | : Thomas C. Anderson |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 204 |
Release | : 2006 |
ISBN-10 | : UOM:39015066842231 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (31 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Marcel was among the first to enunciate the distinction between intersubjective (I-thou) relations and subject to object (I-him/her) relations; the important difference between having and being and between problems and mysteries; the phenomena of the lived body and sensation; the concretely situated and dependent character of human existence as well as its supratemporal, transcendent dimension; the centrality of faith, hope, and love in human life, and our obscure and frequently unrecognized but, nevertheless, real experiences of an Absolute Thou and of our dead loved ones. However, Marcel's philosophical writings, including The Mystery of Being, although innovative and insightful, are often not easily understood by even his most sympathetic readers--frequently because his discussions of issues are unsystematic and sketchy and his reasons in support of the conclusions he arrives at are so briefly presented.