GABRIEL MARCEL

GABRIEL MARCEL
1. Primary and Secondary reflection
2. Being and having
3. Being and others : Interpersonal relationship

(1) Primary and Secondary reflection.

Gabriel Marcel was a French philosopher and leading christian
existentialist. The very term of existentialism , was coined / first used by
Marcel. Marcel’s work, focused on the modern individuals’ struggle, in
a technologically dehumanizing society. ‘The Mystery Of Being’ is a
well known two-volumed work authored by Marcel.


According to Marcel, we live in a “Broken World “ where ‘Ontological

exigence’ is ignored or silenced. The characterisation of the world as
‘broken’ does not necessarily imply that there was a time when the
world was intact. It would be more correct, to emphasise that the world
we live in is essentially broken, broken in essence, in addition to,
having been fractured by events of history. This situation is
characterised by a refusal to reflect, a refusal to imagine, and a denial
of the transcendent.

‘The Broken World’ for Marcel, contains multiple problems, which are
capable of solutions. With data and technology , we can solve
problems, but we do not completely participate with a problem, as a
unique individual. According to Marcel, in “a broken world” , we are
denying the fact that we are intimately involved in a mystery. A mystery
is one’s own, moreover mysteries cannot be solved, they are meta-

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problematic. Thus, we can say that Marcel distinguishes between

problems and mystery. Problem is that, In which one is not involved , in
which the identity of the person asking the question is not an issue ,
And mystery is a “Problem that encroaches on its own data” ( Marcel
1995, p.19) , in which the identity of the questioner becomes an issue
itself.

The distinction between two kinds of questions - problem and mystery,

brings to light that two different kinds of thought-lines or reflections.
The problematic is addressed with thinking that is, detached and
technical, while the mysterious is encountered in reflection that is
involved participatory and decidedly non-technical. Marcel calls these
two kinds of thinking “Primary” and “secondary” reflection. Primary
reflection examines its object by abstraction , by analytically breaking it
down, into its constituent parts, it is concerned with definitions,
essences and technical solutions to problems. In contrast, secondary
reflection is synthetic, it unifies rather than divides. Primary reflection is
directed at that which is outside of “me” or “before me”, while
secondary reflection is directed at that which is not merely “before me”
that is, either that, which is “in me” which “I am” or those areas where
distinctions “in me” or “before me” tend to break down. Thus,
secondary reflection is one important aspect of our access to the self. It
is a properly philosophical mode of reflection. Because, in Marcel’s
view, philosophy must return to concrete situations, if it is to merit the
name ‘Philosophy’.

(2) ‘Being’ and ‘Having’

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Marcel developed his position by introducing a number of important

philosophical distinctions, for which he became well-known. ‘Being
and Having’ is one of them , which was central to his thought. The
distinction applies to a number of areas in life including, the
experience of human embodiment, the nature of intersubjective
relations, and the nature of human personality. Marcel argued that
people’s relationships to their own bodies, is not one of the typical
“ownership”. It is thus, incorrect to understand embodiment in terms of
ownership, or to say that people “possess” their bodies as instruments.
It is more accurate to say, that “I am my body” rather than “I have my
body” , by which Marcel meant, that one cannot look upon one’s body,
as an object or as a problem to be solved.

“Having” involves taking possession of objects that require

detachment from the self and is the realm in which one seeks
conceptual mystery and universal solutions. Marcel acknowledged that
although it is possible to adapt this attitude towards human beings , it
is a distortion of the nature of self. The realm of being, on the other
hand is one in which experience is unified before conceptual analysis,
in which the individual participates in reality. 



Marcel introduced another of his famous distinctions that between
mystery and problem, to further elaborate the notions of being and
having. These realms further correspond to a distinction between two
types of reflections - “secondary” and “primary”. 





(3) Being and others : Interpersonal relationship
Marcel describes life as a mystery and not as a problem, it is never an
existential puzzle to human mind. In allowing man to participate i this

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mysterious nature of life, whose effects or manifestations are familiar to

all, Man ought to participate in a mutual relationship with the other,
thereby respecting and preserving life. In other words, to live a
meaningful and authentic distance, one must establish a loving and
mutual (reciprocal) relationship with other human beings. 



The I - Though relationship in Marcel discovered under the plain of
secondary reflection and mystery is both horizontal as well as vertical.
On the horizontal level, I - Though relationship is the relationship of the
finite “I” to finite “Though”. On the vertical, it is a relationship of finite
being to the absolute “though” - God. 



The “though” for Marcel is the the other who can be invoked by me.
He is the being with whom “I” can enter into a loving relationship. This
is the level of the authentic intersubjectivity. Here, we are no longer
two isolated or self enclosed entities, two strangers struggling to
possess and objectify each other. Rather “I” become present to the
“though” in mutual openness and self-giving. Thus “I” discover
“Though” in a genuine meeting in love, friendship and spiritual
availability. In the “I - Though” relationship, “I” cease to regard the
other as an object, an item in my mind, or merely as a function. The
other becomes for me, a real person, a “Though” with whom I
commune in the most intimate way. He becomes my other self, not a
He / She / It. 



When I address the other as “Though” in a relationship of love, I
become completely involved in all his or her affairs. Whatever affects
him, affects me also. Thus “I - Though” relationship is an invocation, an
appeal to being. It is a call intended to be listened to heard and as well
responded to. It is an address - a response type of relationship, a

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dialogical relationship of the “I” to a “Though” as opposed to a

dialectical question and answer (information) type of relationship
between subject and object. It involves a “witness” of real being. It may
be noted that the love of the “Though” does not stem from love of
certain basic qualities in the person, neither physical, physiological nor
psychological. It involves the “Globe-wholeness”, the complete person
of the”I” directed to the unlimited, unspecified being of the “though”. 



Also on the vertical plain “I” encounters God, who becomes the
absolute “Though” for me. “I” thereby, enter into a mutual, reciprocal
and dialogical relationship with the absolute “Though”. The absolute
“Though” can not be reduced to an absolute object, a he or it. He can
only be addressed as “Though”. Thus, the “I - Absolute Though”
relationship becomes a dialogical and responsive relation in which “I”
becomes a “Though” for God. In this case, then, belief in God for
Marcel, becomes “a Though address meant to be heard” and
responded. Thus Marcel observes “a God whom my belief did not
interest, would not be God but a simple meta-physical entity.



Therefore, the religious experiences of prayer, faith, contemplation,
etc. become a dialogical relationship with the “Though”, a mode of
participation between finite “Though” and the absolute. Marcel
describes this relationship as a “Dyadic” relationship. It a “Dyadic”
relationship because it involves some measures of exclusiveness. It is
exclusive to a third party beside the “I” and “Though”.

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