The Existential Background of Human Dignity

by Gabriel Marcel

White dust jacket with black text

Genres: Philosophy

188 pages, cloth

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Gabriel Marcel (1889–1973) was a philosopher, drama critic, playwright and musician. He converted to Catholicism in 1929 and his philosophy was later described as “Christian Existentialism” (most famously in Jean-Paul Sartre's “Existentialism is a Humanism”) a term he initially endorsed but later repudiated. In addition to his numerous philosophical publications, he was the author of some thirty dramatic works. Marcel gave the Gifford Lectures in Aberdeen in 1949–1950, which appeared in print as the two-volume The Mystery of Being, and the William James Lectures at Harvard in 1961–1962, which were collected and published as The Existential Background of Human Dignity.

Reviews

[Tian Liang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is utterly mind-blowing. Marcel, living in the 19th century, could predict some trends here in the 21st century. His maturity of thought never fails to stun, when he talks candidly about things we would otherwise have dismissed. He talks about how making a commitment to see someone can wear us out; that unconditional love and true love is perhaps nothing more than a construct. And he talks about how humans are inherently responsible for directing each other's thoughts, thereby creating a solidarity. And an interesting point of view: if you were to ask a person for directions, are you merely treating them as a source of information, much like a book, or is it that you're still treating them as another human being, a subject, in this little exchange? Truly wonderful book.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, it made me fall in love with philosophy once again.