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Gabriel Marcel
A comprehensive study of the thought of this French philosopher, the foremost Christian existentialist of this century.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 27, 2019
I esteem and love the writing of Gabriel Marcel and hope to continue exploring and studying his thought indefinitely. I read Man Against Mass Society last year and followed it with this book and Marcel's two volume Gifford lectures, The Mystery of Being this year. Next I plan to read Homo Viator. He is a spiritual, existential and Christian philosopher of a high order but also remarkably accessible. I put off writing even about this book about his thought because there is so much resonant and fructifying material and summarizing it seems like a sterilizing of oneself against its effects. But it has been months. I hope to study him in depth including possibly returning to this fine little synopsis of this rich thinkers work.
Clearly Cain marks Marcel's essay "On the Ontological Mystery" as a summing up of Marcel's mature thought. He also identifies Marcel's essays "Existence and Objectivity" and "Concrete Mystery" as of first importance for anyone who wants to understand Marcel's thought.
Experience is deeper, higher, and fuller than abstract thought and something to be aimed at rather than a starting point to get away from.
"Participation for Marcel is the immediate communion between real, determinate, distinct beings, who yet retain their distinctness and determinateness. It is the elemental experience of being with others, not the mental grasp or noetic vision of ideas or essences; the global experience of 'we are,' not the partial function of 'I think.' This primal immediacy cannot be observed, grasped, or verified from the outside; it cannot be translated into ideas and images, but only lived and relived, evoked and recalled. The participation through beings is knowable only through participation, through sympathetic mediation and communion." Pgs. 23-24
Modern Cartesian extremism still follows the vicious error of disassociating mind and body, cutting the mind off from "the full integral self" and from the world to which the self belongs.
Here is one of those convicting passages that I should cherish as revealing something missing in me: "…we are worth proportionately less as our affirmation of existence is more restricted, more pallid, more hesitant." Pg. 29.
“When I act, I destroy the fiction of ‘ideal disincarnation’ and regain the body/self unity that is broken by analysis into a duality of instrumentalist and instrument.” (pg. 33). And, I might add, that is when I stub my toe, or fail at some major life decision.
“Only as the other is truly thou for me, do I truly become I for myself, for the thou discovers me to myself. I am truly I only over against a thou for whom I also am truly a thou.” pg. 36
Clearly Cain marks Marcel's essay "On the Ontological Mystery" as a summing up of Marcel's mature thought. He also identifies Marcel's essays "Existence and Objectivity" and "Concrete Mystery" as of first importance for anyone who wants to understand Marcel's thought.
Experience is deeper, higher, and fuller than abstract thought and something to be aimed at rather than a starting point to get away from.
"Participation for Marcel is the immediate communion between real, determinate, distinct beings, who yet retain their distinctness and determinateness. It is the elemental experience of being with others, not the mental grasp or noetic vision of ideas or essences; the global experience of 'we are,' not the partial function of 'I think.' This primal immediacy cannot be observed, grasped, or verified from the outside; it cannot be translated into ideas and images, but only lived and relived, evoked and recalled. The participation through beings is knowable only through participation, through sympathetic mediation and communion." Pgs. 23-24
Modern Cartesian extremism still follows the vicious error of disassociating mind and body, cutting the mind off from "the full integral self" and from the world to which the self belongs.
Here is one of those convicting passages that I should cherish as revealing something missing in me: "…we are worth proportionately less as our affirmation of existence is more restricted, more pallid, more hesitant." Pg. 29.
“When I act, I destroy the fiction of ‘ideal disincarnation’ and regain the body/self unity that is broken by analysis into a duality of instrumentalist and instrument.” (pg. 33). And, I might add, that is when I stub my toe, or fail at some major life decision.
“Only as the other is truly thou for me, do I truly become I for myself, for the thou discovers me to myself. I am truly I only over against a thou for whom I also am truly a thou.” pg. 36
January 25, 2025
A lucid and thoughtful introduction to the life and philosophy of Gabriel Marcel, Seymour Cain’s Gabriel Marcel offers a concise yet profound exploration of the French existentialist and Christian thinker whose work bridges the gap between abstract thought and lived experience.
Marcel, often overshadowed by contemporaries like Sartre and Camus, emerges in Cain’s analysis as a distinctive and deeply humane philosopher. Rejecting the despair and atheism often associated with existentialism, Marcel’s work emphasizes themes of hope, faith, and interpersonal relationships. Cain navigates these complex ideas with clarity, drawing connections between Marcel’s philosophy and his devout Catholicism, as well as his creative work as a playwright and musician.
The book provides a compelling overview of Marcel’s key concepts, such as being vs. having, the mystery of being, and the importance of presence and fidelity in human relationships. Cain’s prose is accessible without oversimplifying, making the text suitable for both newcomers to Marcel’s thought and seasoned students of philosophy. His balanced approach situates Marcel’s work within its historical and intellectual context while emphasizing its enduring relevance to contemporary issues, such as alienation, technological advancement, and the search for meaning.
At its core, Cain’s study highlights the deeply relational nature of Marcel’s philosophy, which insists on the primacy of dialogue, mutual understanding, and the recognition of others as subjects rather than objects. These insights resonate as antidotes to modern existential angst and the dehumanizing tendencies of contemporary culture.
Readers interested in existentialism, Christian philosophy, or the intersection of faith and reason will find Gabriel Marcel an illuminating and inspiring read. Cain’s work not only introduces Marcel’s ideas but also encourages readers to engage with them personally, making the philosopher’s vision of hope and transcendence come alive.
Marcel, often overshadowed by contemporaries like Sartre and Camus, emerges in Cain’s analysis as a distinctive and deeply humane philosopher. Rejecting the despair and atheism often associated with existentialism, Marcel’s work emphasizes themes of hope, faith, and interpersonal relationships. Cain navigates these complex ideas with clarity, drawing connections between Marcel’s philosophy and his devout Catholicism, as well as his creative work as a playwright and musician.
The book provides a compelling overview of Marcel’s key concepts, such as being vs. having, the mystery of being, and the importance of presence and fidelity in human relationships. Cain’s prose is accessible without oversimplifying, making the text suitable for both newcomers to Marcel’s thought and seasoned students of philosophy. His balanced approach situates Marcel’s work within its historical and intellectual context while emphasizing its enduring relevance to contemporary issues, such as alienation, technological advancement, and the search for meaning.
At its core, Cain’s study highlights the deeply relational nature of Marcel’s philosophy, which insists on the primacy of dialogue, mutual understanding, and the recognition of others as subjects rather than objects. These insights resonate as antidotes to modern existential angst and the dehumanizing tendencies of contemporary culture.
Readers interested in existentialism, Christian philosophy, or the intersection of faith and reason will find Gabriel Marcel an illuminating and inspiring read. Cain’s work not only introduces Marcel’s ideas but also encourages readers to engage with them personally, making the philosopher’s vision of hope and transcendence come alive.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews