Anyone familiar with Jean-Luc Marion?

  • Thread starter Thread starter liturgy96
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
L

liturgy96

Guest
I am a third year Life Sciences student with an interest in philosophy; though my health does not permit me to minor (too many subjects; not much rest), I have read extensively on philosophers not ordinarily discussed in my university’s core philosophy subjects. One philosopher we do discuss (and is my current interest) is Jean-Luc Marion. Here’s the best source of information I have found on him (nothing on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy): philosophy.uchicago.edu/faculty/marion.html

He has caught my interest as he has written on the history of modern and contemporary philosophy, which I have been studying extensively these days (balancing with my biology subjects HAHA) 🙂 I have also found “Intentionality of Love” a very complex but relatable read because of my first love experience 🙂

He once came to my university when my philosophy professor was a masteral student and during a consultation with said professor, he said that his friend asked Marion how he was able to say Descartes was not Cartesian and thus not solipsist. Marion responded that when Descartes doubted the world because God might be a deceiver God, he was already admitting to the existence of Another (and another). But then again Cartesian and solipsist are loaded words that must be properly defined first…

Anyway, I just want to have an idea how many have heard of him (and may I know what you think of his ideas?) 🙂 Thanks!
 
liturgy96 said:
Anyway, I just want to have an idea how many have heard of him (and may I know what you think of his ideas?) 🙂 Thanks!
Click to expand...
Dear, Liturgy96:

I am specialist in French phenomenology, and Marion is one of my current foci. To really understand him, you need to read Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, and Levinas (especially Levinas, whom he rarely credits publicly or in print). This is because he is building on a whole tradition before him, and Levinas is crucial for any discussion in French thought.

To answer your question, I think his ideas are crucial for us Catholics in the twenty-first century because of all we are up against. The secular world doesn’t work on a medieval mindset the way much of Church teaching is often framed. I especially this is true of “the gift,” which you can find an in-depth discussion of in “God, the Gift, and Postmodernism” (978-0-253-21328-0) edited by John Caputo and Michael Scanlon. Marion is one thinker who forms philosophical tools we can use to address metaphysical questions about God, belief, and love (among others). I find this is much more useful and fruitful than many other approaches.

Yours,

Warrior
 
Warrior89 said:
Dear, Liturgy96:

I am specialist in French phenomenology, and Marion is one of my current foci. To really understand him, you need to read Husserl, Heidegger, Derrida, and Levinas (especially Levinas, whom he rarely credits publicly or in print). This is because he is building on a whole tradition before him, and Levinas is crucial for any discussion in French thought.

To answer your question, I think his ideas are crucial for us Catholics in the twenty-first century because of all we are up against. The secular world doesn’t work on a medieval mindset the way much of Church teaching is often framed. I especially this is true of “the gift,” which you can find an in-depth discussion of in “God, the Gift, and Postmodernism” (978-0-253-21328-0) edited by John Caputo and Michael Scanlon. Marion is one thinker who forms philosophical tools we can use to address metaphysical questions about God, belief, and love (among others). I find this is much more useful and fruitful than many other approaches.

Yours,

Warrior
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your informative reply! 🙂 I shall probably read up on those philosophers you mentioned when I am not too busy (too much schoolwork lately). My only concern is I hear Derrida can be too complex a read at times? Does he have more accessible works which I can start from, as I absolutely have no idea of his philosophical interests? Same question for Levinas too, I guess (although at least I am more familiar with Levinas as my philosophy professor occasionally mentions his ideas while he is discussing Marion’s ideas).

Now I’m really getting curious about French philosophers 🙂
 
Dear, Liturgy:

Derrida is classified as a post-structuralist and postmodernist, but he works mostly in the context of phenomenology and semiotics, the latter developing his famous concept of “deconstruction,” which he came to regret because he felt there was so much more to his thinking. He was one of those philosophers who commented on everything.

He is famous for being NOTORIOUSLY difficult to comprehend. One of his three most famous texts, Of Grammatology, is noted for being especially difficult. (It’s about the history of writing.) It enrages people because its denseness is utterly unreadable, and some have accused him of writing this way on purpose. His other famous texts are Writing and Difference, a series of early lectures, and Speech and Phenomena, a text about Husserl based on his master’s thesis. An accessible introduction is the interview comprising the first part of the book “Deconstruction in a Nutshell” (978-0823217557) edited by, guess who?, John Caputo.

There are a number of texts on 20th century French philosophy. I’d recommend reading the primary texts first so your opinions are shaped without passion. As for Levinas, definitely get your hands on Ethics and Infinity. It’s an interview–and Levinas gave a lot of those–with the philosopher Philippe Nemo where he lays out his philosophy in layman’s terms. I highly recommend chapters 7 and 8 on the face and responsibility.

Other famous French philosophers in the century are…

  1. *]Michel Henry (phenomenology)
    *]Jean-Louis Chrétien (phenomenology)
    *]Gabriel Marcel (Catholic existence philosophy)
    *]Paul Ricoeur (phenomenology and hermeneutics)
    *]Emmanuel Mounier (one brand of personalism)
    *]Simone Weil (political philosophy and philosophy of religion)
    *]Jacques Ellul (philosophy of technology)
    *]Henri Bergson (as crucial as Levinas in influence–he convinced the French milieu that intuition is more important than rationalism)

    Yours,

    Warrior
 
I read a one interview where Levinas discussed his ideas about the face, and that shed more light on Marion’s ideas on the invisible gaze and the injunction 🙂 I have yet to read more on him though. As for Derrida, I’m reading this right now: garyrolfe.net/documents/deconstructioninanutshell.pdf

I’ll read up more when I have time. Final exams…
 
liturgy96 said:
I read a one interview where Levinas discussed his ideas about the face, and that shed more light on Marion’s ideas on the invisible gaze and the injunction 🙂 I have yet to read more on him though. As for Derrida, I’m reading this right now: garyrolfe.net/documents/deconstructioninanutshell.pdf

I’ll read up more when I have time. Final exams…
Click to expand...
Dear Liturgy:

Marion takes A LOT from Levinas and rarely gives him credit. Which interview? I think you also have a good deconstruction source there, too.

Peace.

Warrior
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top