Abstract

In his most recent publications Gabriel Marcel has begun to speak out more extensively and decisively than ever before about what he thinks philosophy is. I have tried in my study to draw together the main lines of his thought on this question, calling especially upon the recent writ­ings some of which are not yet translated into English, but also upon earlier and more familiar works whenever it seemed appropriate. As a way of making concrete the theory of what philosophy is for Marcel I have in Chapter VII translated a short essay in which Marcel can be seen actually going about philosophizing, and I have analyzed, interpreted and criticized this essay in the light of the theory which emerges in the first six chapters.