World

Gabriel Marcel on the 50th Anniversary of his Death

Marcel eschews being systematic, relying rather on reflection on everyday events, as emerges from the Metaphysical Diary, which appeared in 1927

Gabriel Marcel (right). (Photo supplied)

By Giovanni Cucci SJ, La Civiltà Cattolica

Published: October 30, 2023 11:19 AM GMT

Updated: October 30, 2023 11:32 AM GMT

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Gabriel Marcel, perhaps the most important philosophical exponent of contemporary Christian existentialism.

Although employed for many years in various universities, where he taught philosophy, he nevertheless devoted much of his energies and interests to the fields of literature and theater.

Life

Gabriel Marcel was born in Paris on December 7, 1889. His thought was strongly influenced by authors belonging to very different philosophical schools, such as Léon Brunschvicg, Henri Bergson, Friedrich Schelling (the subject of his doctoral dissertation), Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers.

He takes up these authors in a very personal synthesis, and is interested above all in investigating the role that intuition plays in the knowledge and detection of values in the subject’s life, caught up in tragedy and evil.

His output was strongly influenced by a religious dimension, which provides inspiration for reason and allows for the discovery of meaning in the dramatic nature of existence.

For this reason, Marcel eschews being systematic, relying rather on reflection on everyday events, as emerges from the Metaphysical Diary, which appeared in 1927 (the second part would be incorporated into the 1935 work Being and Having), which is also a testimony to his spiritual journey that would lead him to convert to Catholicism in 1929.

Read the complete article here.

This article is brought to you by UCA News in association with "La Civiltà Cattolica."

Help UCA News to be independent

Dear reader,

November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month will mark the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millenium, that will profile some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.

Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.

Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.

A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.