EXISTENSIALISM 2

Karl Jaspers Gabriel Marcel

“God is only ‘chiffer to be “Being is the ontological
filled by man himself”. Mystery”
 Karl Jaspers (1883-1969)
The Particularity of Jaspers The Works of Jaspers
• He was born in Oldenburg,
Germany in February 23th,
1883.
• “Consciousness only
acquires knowledge of its
transcendence by
contemplating the
evanescent ciphers of
transcendence”.
• He was died in Basel,
Switzerland in February
26th, 1969.
Philosophy of Existensialism
The duty of philosophy is to look
for the answer of questions on the
meaning of life and the
distinctiveness of the chosen way
of life.
1. We can’t find it by knowledge
even be accomplished by
sciences.
2. We only find it by the
illumination of existence
(Existenzerhellung).
 Existence has not been Dasein
yet, but it is characterized as an
open possibility; existence is a
vocation to carry out our freedom.
Open Possibility
“The human being is an
open possibility,
incomplete and
incompletable. Hence it is
always more and other
than what he has brought
to realisation in himself.”
Nevertheless, it is our
responsibility to try
imagining what that
human being could be at
the next stage of its
history” (Karl Jaspers)
 “Leben als Grenzsituation”
Leben als Grenzsituation is the
limitedness situation. If man is
determined by concrete situation, the
existence of man is found through the
limitedness situation (death, crisis,
suffeering, failure).
When we experience the limitedness
situation, we realize the the world is
not the ultimate reality but there is
trans-limitedness (the other reality).
The name trans-limitedness is
transcendence; but God as ciphers is
like a symbol to filled by man himself.
 The Language of Ciphers
The ciphers is a medium between
existence and transcendence. Like
symbol, the divinity is hidden but man
can “read” language to written in its
existence.
Man is free because God hid himself.
Consequently, the revelation is not
limited in a certain period of history but
continued in history because everything
becomes the ciphers as the symbol of
divinity.
The ciphers manifest in nature, history,
literature, art, philosophy, scripture,
religion, mistics, teology, but it is clear in
“Leben als Grenzsituation”.
 God and Religion
The universal dialog has the
background of conflict among men
because of religions (concepts of God
God is trans-concept; therefore all
dogmas has to be returned to the
ciphers of which we can dialogue well
among religions by the universal
teachings: God exists, man has to
choose the good, love is the prove of
God, the world is not the ultimate
reality.
The faith has to start from reason in
order to unite the religions in the
world, namely God is only ciphers.
The Laguage BEYOND CIPHERS
of Symbols

Trans-Ciphers:
1. The Borobudur
Temple
2. Meister Echart

The Reality of God: Emptiness

 Gabriel Marcel(1889 –1973)
The Particularity of Marcel
• He was born in Paris,
France in Desember 07th,
1889.

• “To tell someone, with

fullness of heart, ‘I love you,’
is virtually the same as
saying, ‘You shall never
die.'”
• He was died in Paris,
France in October 08th,
1973.
Philosophy of Existensialism

According Marcel,
existensialism is not only “the
way of being” but also “being
concretely” or “being as
corporeal reality”
The starting point of his
reflection is “to exist is
being”. Marcel presented the
existing subject, the incarnate
being who is already in his
world-situation, as the
absolute starting-point for all
philosophical thought.
 Man: Être Incarné”
The existence of man is not being here
but the will bringing from “being here” to
“being there”. In other words, the
existence of man sets two poles: “not
being” and “being” (être incarné):
Être incarné means that man is
related with his body; his body
becomes the point of contact
between not being and being (“the
borderland”)
1. Man dominates his body; man can
suicide his body and can use his
body as he wants.
2. His body dominates man; it controls
from inside as lusts.
 Man: Être et Avoir”
Man exist in the borderland between
being and not being in which man
can alienate from himself if he falls
down in temptation to deny
himself.
1. Man alienates himself by the way
of having all in the world. He
block himself as being in the
world.
2. But man become free and
manifests his existence by the
way of being. He lets all in the
world as being and can
transcend himself.
 “Intersubjective Relation”
My openness to the other is an openness to
a Thou. I become “available” as a person,
“disponibile” to the other.
 Love as the intersubjective relation is
relation “Je-toi” (person) not “je-lui”
(utilization) or “je-on” (instrument)
Four dimensions of love is the
expressions the intersubjective relation:
1. L’invocation: the call of heart.
2. La disponibilé: the openness of heart.
3. L’engagement: the participation of love.
4. La fidelité: the faitfulness of relation.
5. It is only love the relation “je-toi” to be
perfect: I become I and you become you
and “I” am united “you” to be “we”.
 Le Mystère d'Être
Human being, open to the mystery
of being is overtaken by new
awareness of the eternal fulfilling
Presence that he seeks to know.
Through openness to being and to
others, I transcend my egoism and
prepare for a personal self-relating
to God, the absolute Thou.
Man’s quest for being is identical
therefore with his quest for
salvation. It is constantly created
anew in every interpersonal
relationship of the “I” with the
empirical ‘thou’ or the absolute
‘Thou’ who is God himself.
 Homo Viator
Because of being not having, man is
the man of traveller in the world.
The struggle of man takes place in
the borderland between “being”
and “not being”.
Love and faithfulness is endless.
They give hope to the heart of man
overcome the death of man.
Hope directs to “Toi supreme” (the
absolute You), that is God of which we
can find by the attitude of
surrendering to Him.