Gabriel Marcel and American Philosophy
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The Religious Dimension of Experience: Gabriel Marcel and American Philosophy Author: David W. Rodick Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/1181 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Boston College Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, 2009 Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. Boston College The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Department of Philosophy THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF EXPERIENCE: GABRIEL MARCEL AND AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY By DAVID WILLIAM RODICK Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2, 2009 © copyright by DAVID WILLIAM RODICK 2009 Dissertation Title: THE RELIGIOUS DIMENSION OF EXPERIENCE: GABRIEL MARCEL AND AMERICAN PHILOSOPHY Dissertation Advisor: David M. Rasmussen The French philosopher Gabriel Marcel (1889-1973) was deeply influenced by the classical tradition of American philosophy. Marcel’s first essays focused upon the philosophy of Josiah Royce (1855-1916). Royce impressed Marcel due to his ability to engage in bold, imaginative construction and yet remain “faithful to the empirical tradition, which he deepened and enriched….” Marcel was also deeply influenced by William Ernest Hocking’s (1873-1966) major work, The Meaning of God in Human Experience which, for Marcel, not only reaffirmed the religious dimension of human experience but also served as “an advance in the direction of that metaphysical realism toward which I resolutely tended.” Lastly, Marcel had a sustained personal and philosophical relationship with Henry G. Bugbee Jr. (1915-1999) of the University of Montana. Marcel first met Bugbee at Harvard University while delivering the William James Lectures in 1961. Willard Van Orman Quine described Bugbee as “the ultimate exemplar of the examined life” and Calvin Schrag described him as “the most marginalized philosopher in America.” Part I consists of a comprehensive examination of Marcel’s philosophy, focusing upon the manner in which his thought exhibits a strong sense of “ontological continuity” – establishing a fundamental relationship between human being and the transcendent. According to Marcel “Finite thought is continually attracted by a beyond which eternally escapes it.” Part I will be followed by three sections (Parts II-IV) devoted to the relationship between Marcel and the thought of Royce, Hocking, and Bugbee respectively. The relationship between Marcel and these philosophers is based largely upon their mutual critique of abstract thinking and a shared belief in the presence of a decisive connection between human being and the transcendent. The thesis concludes with Part V entitled “The Religious Dimension of Experience,” which explores the manner in which a select cadre of American philosophers has successfully developed the philosophical implications of Marcel’s work. As Marcel indicated, “Perhaps the most important task on the plane of speculation is to deepen once again the notion of life itself in the light of the highest and most genuine religious thought.” Acknowledgement Despite its characterization as a culminating event, the Ph.D. dissertation – especially one in Philosophy – is destined in some degree to incompleteness. As Kant stated at the outset of the Critique of Pure Reason, we are implicated in a series of questions which we can neither answer nor ignore. This dissertation bespeaks incompleteness for the very reason Kant identified and for reasons of a more personal nature. As Wittgenstein said: “My spade is turned. This is simply what I do.” This project is the fulfillment of a life’s work. Beginning graduate studies late in life requires a significant amount of sacrifice. Failure to recognize this would constitute naiveté of the worst kind. I wish to thank the Philosophy Department at Boston College for acceptance into the Ph.D. program. Graduate seminars with David M. Rasmussen, Oliva Blanchette, and William J. Richardson, S.J. will be remembered as highpoints in my philosophical education. I also would like to express appreciation to David Rasmussen for showing an interest in my work, directing this dissertation, and providing support throughout a long, arduous process. Oliva Blanchette’s careful reading of the penultimate draft helped remove several typographical and textual errors. Any remaining errors are my responsibility. I wish to dedicate this work to my Mother, Vivian H. Rodick (1932-2008), who made this moment possible. Portland, Maine August 2009 vii You would not find out the boundaries of the soul, even by traveling along every path: so deep a logos does it have. Heraclitus A philosopher is a human soul which remembers its own divinity and behaves as becomes a god. Étienne Gilson There will be no saying, “Look, here it is! or there it is!” For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Luke 17:20-21 Truth is simple But seldom ever seen. Let nothing come between Simple man, simple dream. John David Souther And then in the desert, when the sun comes up, I couldn't tell where heaven stopped and the earth began. Forrest Gump I saw a highway of diamonds and nobody on it. Bob Dylan viii Table of Contents Introduction: The Religious Dimension of Experience: Gabriel Marcel and American Philosophy ……………………………………………………………………………... 1 Part I: From a Broken World to Circulating Being: The Transcendent Trajectory of Marcel’s Thought …………………………………………………............................... 30 Part II: From Idealism to Communitarian Fulfillment: Marcel’s Royce Interpretation .…………………...……………………………………………….. 102 Part III: Gabriel Marcel and William E. Hocking: Companions of Eternity ……………………………………………………………………………….. 171 Part IV: An Inward Morning: The Experiential Philosophy of Henry G. Bugbee, Jr. …………………………………………………………………. 227 Conclusion: The Religious Dimension of Experience: Fertile Ground in the Recent American Landscape …………………………………………………………………. 290 John E. Smith ………………………………………………………………………… 291 Robert O Johann, S.J. …………………………………………………....................... 297 Carl G. Vaught ...………………………………………………………...................... 303 John M Anderson ……………………………………………………………………. 310 Robert C. Pollock ……………………………………………………………………. 316 The Future of Philosophy: A Brief Prospective ……………………………………... 321 Bibliography: ………………………………………………………………………… 324 vi 1 Introduction The Religious Dimension of Experience: Gabriel Marcel and American Philosophy “Perhaps the most important task on the plane of speculation is to deepen once again the notion of life itself in the light of the highest and most genuine religious thought.”1 “A kind of magnetic field stretches around my life … one of the poles of this magnetic field was and remains, in spite of everything, America.”2 § Investigational Context The fact that Marcel’s philosophy has largely been relegated to the dustbin of philosophy bespeaks a very sad state of affairs. Despite his great popularity in the 60’s and 70’s as a “Christian existentialist,” Marcel’s thought currently claims few followers. Due to his emphasis on concreteness and his antipathy to abstraction in any form, Marcel’s writings are often misread as effeminate, unsophisticated, and lacking in philosophical rigor – even by continental standards! Unlike Derrida and other recent French writers, Marcel’s thought has failed to attract a subsequent generation of readers. This is unfortunate because Marcel’s thought is rich both in its content and its relevance to inter-disciplinary investigations. One aspect of Marcel’s thought that has yet to be explored is its relationship to classical American philosophy. The fact that American philosophy is driven by an appeal to experience in its rich dimensionality allows for an immediate synergy with Marcel’s thought. The purpose of this study is to present Marcel’s thought and its relation to three important American philosophers: Josiah Royce, William Hocking, and Henry Bugbee. 1 Gabriel Marcel, The Decline of Wisdom, trans. M. Harari (London: Harvill Press Ltd., 1954): 19. 2 Gabriel Marcel, Awakenings, trans. Peter Rogers (Marquette University Press, 2002): 211, 213. 2 The lines of connection between Marcel and these thinkers are various and rich. Few readers of Marcel are aware that the first philosophical position he embraced was objective idealism. This idealistic orientation gave Marcel a unique vantage point from which to understand and evaluate Royce’s thought. For this reason, the essays that comprise the Royce monograph – perhaps the least known of all Marcel’s writings – remain to this day a gold standard in Royce studies. Yet despite the idealistic tenor of his work on Royce, Marcel was clearly moving away from his idealistic orientation towards what he referred to as “metaphysical realism.” This shift in perspective was a direct result of his exposure to Hocking’s The Meaning of God in Human Experience – a monumental work emphasizing the primacy of intersubjective relations. Perhaps the closest thing to an American equivalent to Gabriel Marcel is Henry Bugbee. Marcel’s important notions of ontological exigence and secondary reflection are given concrete testimonial in Bugbee’s work, approaching a level of experiential intensity not seen in American thought since Edwards and Thoreau. According to Marcel, “Henry Bugbee and I inhabit the same land … [a land] illuminated by a light of its own.”3 § Thematic Orientation The religious dimension of experience provides an ideal theme around which to orient Marcel’s thought in its American context. Experience in its religious dimensionality