Gabriel Marcel

An exposition in five parts of the character of existentialist philosophy, including an analysis of the theories of Jean-Paul Sartre. Author Gabriel Marcel, a famous French dramatist, philosopher, and author of Le Dard, was a leading exponent of Christian existentialism.

The Philosophy of Existentialism

Man against Mass Society

Excerpt from The Mystery of Being, Vol. 1: Reflection and Mystery It might be said in the first place that a road implies space; and that the notion of space is something from which a meta physical investigation, as such, must abstract. One must make thesimple answer that if my metaphor must be rejected on this count, so must every kind of discursive thinking; for it is all too evident that the notion of discursiveness implies, and rests on, a simple physical image like that of walking along a road. Moreover, we shall later on have occasion to recognize the existence and philosophical rights of a sort of spatiality which might be called the spatiality of inner experience; and it may be that this spatiality of inner experience is coextensive with the whole spiritual life. But the objection may be put in another way, which has a dangerous look of being much more genuinely awkward. To lay down a road in a place where at first there were only tracks, is that not equivalent to fixing in advance a certain destination at which one intends to arrive, and must not that destination, itself, be very exactly located? The underlying image would be that of a grotto, a mine, or a sanctuary whose whereabouts one knew in advance. It would be a matter of showing the way there to those who for one reason or another wanted to have a look at the place, no doubt in order to profit from its riches. But does not this presuppose that the result we are working for has already been achieved, even before we start working for it: does it not pre suppose a preliminary or original discovery of the grotto or the sanctuary? Well, looking at the matter in my own way, I must ask whether, in the realm of philosophy, we can really talk about results? Is not all such talk based on a misunderstanding of the specific character of a philosophical investigation, as such? The question raised here at least obliges us to come to much closer grips with the very notion of a result. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Reflection and Mystery (Classic Reprint)

The Mystery of Being, Vol. 1

The Mystery of Being contains the most systematic exposition of the philosophical thought of Gabriel Marcel, a convert to Catholicism and the most distinguished twentieth-century exponent of Christian existentialism. Its two volumes are the Gifford lectures which Marcel delivered in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1949 and 1950. Marcel's work fundamentally challenges most of the major positions of the atheistic existentialists (Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus), especially their belief in an absurd, meaningless, godless universe. These volumes deal with almost all of the major themes of Marcel's thought: the nature of philosophy, our broken world, man's deep ontological need for being, i.e., for permanent eternal values, our incarnate bodily existence, primary and secondary reflection, participation, being in situation, the identity of the human self, intersubjectivity, mystery and problem, faith, hope, and the reality of God, and immortality.

Reflection and mystery

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Being and Having

Paul Seaton

Emma Craufurd

This edition of Marcel's inspiring Homo Viator has been updated to includle fifty-seven pages of new material available for the first time in English, making this the first English-language edition to conform to the standard French edition. Here, Christianity's foremost existentialist of the twentieth century gives us a prodigious personal insight on `man on the way' that will reinforce and commend our own pilgrimages in hope. "Homo Viator - "Homo Viator - or as Marcel calls him, `itinerate man' - is an outstanding example of the philosophy concerned, not with technical problems, but with the urgent problems of man. Marcel talks to our condition, emphasizing our urgent need of hope, thus discovering beyond the lack of stability the values on which we may depend. "A subtle mind, a dramatist as well as a philosopher, close to the texture of human experience, he goes far beyond current platitudes to show that our Western tradition contains living truths that are as essential to our contemporary life as they were to our ancestors when they discovered them." - Eliseo Vivas "The theme of Marcel's Homo Viator is close to the center of all preoccupations: man in his pilgrim condition. With great virtuosity in the use of his own philosophical method, he probes into interpersonal relations and the threat to ethical values. Marcel excels here in his concrete analyses of the attitude of hope, the family community in its temporal and supratemporal aspects, and the forgotten virtue of personal fidelity." - James Collins

Introduction to the Metaphysic of Hope

Homo Viator

The central theme of this important book is that we are paying the price of an arrogance that refuses to recognize mystery. The author invites the reader to enter into the argument that he holds with himself on a great number of problems. Written in the early 1950s, Marcel's discussion of these topics are remarkably contemporary, e.g.: * Our crisis is a metaphysical, not merely social, one. * What a man is depends partly on what he thinks he is, and a materialistic philosophy turns men into things. * Can a man be free except in a free country? * Stoicism is no longer a workable philosophy because today pressure can be put on the mind as well as on the body. * Technical progress is not evil in itself, but a technique is a means that, regarded as an end, can become either an idol or an excuse for self-idolatry. State control of scientific research, leading to a concentration on new means of destruction, is a calamity. * Fanaticism is an opinion that refuses to argue, and so the fanatic is an enemy of truth. * The kind of unification that science is bringing about today is really an ironing out of differences, but the only valuable kind of unity is one that implies a respect for differences. * We must beware of thinking in terms of great numbers and so blinding ourselves to the reality of individual suffering. Our philosophical approach to being is made possible only by our practical approach to our neighbor. * We must encourage the spirit of fraternity and distrust the kind of egalitarianism that is based on envy and resentment. * No man however humble should feel that he cannot spread the light among his friends. No easy solution is offered, but the author conveys his own faith that ultimately love and intelligence will triumph.

Man Against Mass Society

These lectures and essays were regarded by Marcel as the best introduction to his thought. Creative Fidelity not only deals with perennial themes of faith, fidelity, belief, incarnate being, and participation, but also includes chapters on religious tolerance and orthodoxy and an important critical essay on Karl Jaspers.

Creative Fidelity

And The Philosopher and Peace

Philosophical Fragments, 1904 [i.e. 1909]-1914

Three Plays: A Man of God, Ariadne, The Votive Candle

Introduction to a Metaphysic of Hope

A Gabriel Marcel Reader

The Participant Perspective

Henri Bergson

Rene Guenon

Ahmet Aydoğan

Metafizik nedir?

Ser y Tener

The Philosophy of Existence articulates the integral elements, constitutive terminology, and characteristic anthropology of Marcel's philosophy of existence, and describe its marked differences with the atheist existentialism of Jean-Paul Sartre, and its departures from the existentialism of Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers.

The Philosophy of Existence

Included here: The Heart of Others Dot the I The Double Expertise The Lantern Colombyre or the Torch of Peace Plus interviews with the translator concerning each play. As well as a listing of texts and audio visuals materials for use in a classroom setting. Marcel's contributions have been recognized internationally with prestigious awards including: France's National Prize for Literature, the Pirkheimer Prize for Humanism, and the Goethe Peace Prize for promoting peace beyond national frontiers.

Fresh Hope for the World Dramatic Explorations

A Path to Peace

The Existential Background of Human Dignity

This volume presents Marcel's four-act play, The Broken World, followed by his essay Concrete Approaches to Investigating the Ontological Mystery, with commentaries by Henri Gouhier and Marcel Belay, and a companion essay by K.R. Hanley.

Gabriel Marcel's Perspectives on The Broken World

This volume presents for the first time in book form, two exciting plays by Gabriel Marcel: a powerful one act drama, The Lantern, that is in the permanent repertory of the Comedie FranÁaise, and, for the first time in English, a full-length comedy in three acts, Colombyre or The Torch of Peace. This work also includes as its foreword a previously unpublished essay by Gabriel Marcel, "From Comic Theater to Musical Creation," in which Marcel analyzes the role of comedy in his theater. An introduction by Joseph Cunnen situates Marcel's theater in the context of modern drama. An editor's preface introduces the two plays, and a list of Marcel's thirty plays completes the volume. Original illustrations, "The Lantern" and "Colombyre" have been sketched by Steve Healy.

Gabriel Marcel

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