The Philosophy of Existence

by Gabriel Marcel

An exposition of the character of existentialist philosophy, including an analysis of the theories of Jean-Paul Sartre.
Introduction
On the Ontological Mystery
Existence & Human Freedom
Testimony & Existentialism
An Essay in Autobiography

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Essays, France

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1956

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.