The Philosophy of Existentialism by Gabriel Marcel

First published: 1956

Edition(s) used:The Philosophy of Existentialism, translated by Manya Harari. New York: Citadel Press, 1966

Genre(s): Nonfiction

Subgenre(s): Autobiography; critical analysis; essays; philosophy

Core issue(s): Ethics; freedom and free will; knowledge; life; reason; religion

Overview

In his introduction to The Philosophy of Existentialism, Gabriel Marcel describes the first three essays, which make up most of the book. The first, “On the Ontological Mystery,” gives the main outlines of Marcel’s own thinking. The second, “Existence and Human Freedom,” offers a critical discussion of the work of Jean-Paul Sartre. The third, “Testimony and Existentialism,” gives Marcel’s own perspective on existentialism. These three essays also appear in chronological order, since Marcel wrote them in 1933, January of 1946, and February of 1946, respectively. A fourth, short autobiographical piece, “An Essay in Autobiography,” published in 1947 in a collection of writings devoted to Marcel’s work, appears at the end. Thus, the four essays can be taken as representing the development of Gabriel Marcel’s thought and as his response to existentialist philosophy in its heyday in the late 1940’s.

“On the Ontological Mystery” poses a distinction between problems and mysteries. Problems are questions that are, at least in theory, resolvable. However, the ontological, which Marcel defines as the sense of being, is not a problem, but a mystery. Connected to the mystery of the sense of being is the sense of presence, the sense of one’s own presence and the sense of the presence of things and of something beyond oneself. Modern life, with its absorption in problems and in the technical means to solve problems, tends to overlook being and presence. The fascination with technology, in particular, tends to involve human beings in a pride in their own control of the world and to render them incapable of controlling their own control. Marcel suggests an association between the ontological mystery and Christianity, particularly Catholicism. The sense of presence, for example, can be understood as the religious experience of the Eucharist. However, Marcel maintains that openness to the irreducible fullness of existence may entail Christianity for those who live within the historical tradition of Christianity, but that no particular religious perspective is logically necessary for the recognition of the ontological mystery.

The second essay, “Existence and Human Freedom,” takes up the ideas developed in the first and directs these ideas toward the most famous (or notorious) spokesperson of existentialism, Jean-Paul Sartre. In this essay, Marcel concentrates on Sartre’s first book, the novel La Nausée (1938; Nausea, 1949), but he also touches on several of Sartre’s other works. Those who read Marcel’s description of Sartre’s novel with the first essay of this book in mind will be struck by the difference between the two writers’ subjective approaches to existence. For Marcel, being is a mysterious fullness. For Sartre, as seen through the ideas of his protagonist Roquentin, being is something that produces feelings of formlessness, stickiness, emptiness, and disgust. Marcel raises the question of why the existence of things apart from oneself should necessarily give rise to such negative reactions. An analysis of Sartre’s ideas of human freedom is central to Marcel’s criticism of the Sartrean system of values. Sartre argues that freedom consists of making choices and that it is through making choices that one becomes free. It is also the case, though, that all choices are absurd. Since all choices are made in absolute freedom, there is no reason to choose one thing rather than another. The philosophy of the freedom of emptiness is based on Sartre’s materialism and his atheism. There is nothing inside of things or behind them, and this is what gives existence its quality of provoking vertigo and nausea. Marcel points out, though, that if we simply exercise our freedom through making choices, we have no basis for judging the choices that people make. The French who chose to collaborate with the German occupiers during World War II (which had ended only a decade before Marcel published his book) acted in ways that were no better and no worse than those who took part in the resistance. Sartre’s materialism and relativism led Marcel to ask whether Sartre, at odds with the French communists in 1946, would move closer to Marxism in the future. Over the following two decades, as Sartre allied himself with the extreme left in French politics, Marcel’s question proved to be prophetic.

“Testimony and Existence,” the third essay, continues to criticize Sartre, but in this piece Sartre becomes more of a foil to illustrate Marcel’s own variety of existentialism. For Marcel, being means bearing witness. This is bearing witness before a transcendent other, presumably God, but also bearing witness before other people. Therefore, giving testimony about being is a social act. Sartre takes a negative view of other people and of acts for other people. For Sartre, a gift is a strategy to possess and ultimately destroy others. Marcel responds, though, that gifts are testimonies of relations with other people.

The final essay in the volume, “An Essay in Autobiography,” is a reflection on Marcel’s own life and on the readings, thoughts, and experiences that led him to his philosophy. He describes the “desert universe” of abstract learning in the schools and the influence of French philosopher Henri Bergson. At the end, he reaches the conclusion that the deepening of metaphysical knowledge involves delving into experience, rather than the development of technical solutions to problems.

Christian Themes

The Christian themes in Marcel’s work are subtle, and often implicit rather than explicit. One of the most fundamental themes is that of the fullness of being. Existence for Marcel is not a void into which we find ourselves thrown, as it seems to be in the writings of many others described as existentialists. It is replete with other people and with an Other that permeates all. This is not an exclusively Christian theme, as Marcel recognizes in his first essay. Nevertheless, it creates an opening to Christianity.

The theme of presence is connected to that of the fullness of being. Presence involves both the subject in the world and the experiences of that subject. It is both being present and receiving the presence of other people and the presence of God through other people and through the world.

Marcel’s writing may seem a bit perplexing to many first-time readers because he does not seem to expound a doctrine or set of ideas in any systematic way. Instead, his writings have the quality of looking around and exploring his thoughts. This can be thought of as a theme in his writing, and a theme that draws on a long tradition in Christian literature. This is the theme of the journey of illumination, in which a writer moves toward understanding through reflection.

Running through all of Marcel’s work is the theme of the mystery, a word with long-standing Christian connotations. The mystery of being is the source of its fullness, and it is the ultimate presence in the world. The distinction between the mystery and the problem parallels the Christian distinction between faith and works. Problems, as issues that have technical and intellectual solutions, involve the works of people. The mystery, though, is something that can be realized only through deepening experience.

Sources for Further Study

Cooney, William, ed. Contributions of Gabriel Marcel to Philosophy: A Collection of Essays. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989. The essays are divided into four parts that look at Marcel’s thought in the context of his life, Marcel’s work in the theater, his thoughts on the nature of being, and the way Marcel and other existentialists approached the issues of death, hope, and God.

Moran, Denis P. Gabriel Marcel: Existentialist Philosopher, Dramatist, and Educator. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1992. Provides an intellectual biography of Marcel and examines the relationship of Marcel’s drama to his philosophy. The author then uses the concepts in Marcel’s work to discuss contemporary philosophies of education.

Schilpp, Paul Arthur, and Lewis Edwin Hahn. The Philosophy of Gabriel Marcel. La Salle, Ill.: Open Court Press, 1984. From the Library of Living Philosophers series, this volume offers twenty-two essays on Marcel’s philosophy written by major twentieth century thinkers. Each essay is followed by a response from Marcel himself. Also contains a bibliography of the writings of Gabriel Marcel. The book was composed during the last years of Marcel’s life.

Traub, Donald F. Toward a Fraternal Society: A Study of Gabriel Marcel’s Complete Approach to Being, Technology, and Intersubjectivity. New York: P. Lang, 1988. Examines what the author sees as Marcel’s experiential thinking as a means of achieving understanding among people and of creating a fraternal order in society.

Van Ewijk, Thomas J. M. Gabriel Marcel: An Introduction. Glen Rock, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1965. An introductory work intended to acquaint the general reader with the philosophical work of Marcel. Includes a biographical chapter. Other chapters are devoted to some of the main themes and concepts in Marcel’s work.