PROJECT BODY:

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Life is a Mystery and not a problem; it is never an existential puzzle to human mind. In allowing man to partake in this 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 existence, one must establish a loving and mutual (reciprocal) relationship with other human beings, which must respect a qualified treatment of the other as (thou than it) genuine and as one who has a personal right, sacredness and dignity that must be kept respectfully.

For the success of the above viewpoint, care should be taken to avoid any form of life of estrangement. Such life of estrangement is scarcely worth living. To transcend this life of estrangement, one has to detach oneself from solitary life and enter into a committed life thereby looking upon oneself, the others, and even at the world not as a strange or perplexing existence.

Existentialism being one of the models of philosophy advocates for a life of commitment which gives focus and sense of direction to one’s life. On the strength of this, Gabriel Marcel, the leading religious existentialist in Europe, considering our state of life in a relational level, propounded the theory of I-thou relationship. Francis J.C. quotes Marcel as saying:

“The meaningfulness and the authenticity of one’s existence as an ‘I’ is totally conditioned by the generosity with which I make myself available in mutual love, fidelity, faith and disponibility to thou”.

It is obvious and clear that the authenticity of one’s existence to the other is absolutely anchored on one’s genuiness, openness to the other who is the only unique way of oiling one’s existence. Thus, it does not give much confidence for being exceptionally sensitive, thoughtful and honest without the other.

I-Thou relationship therefore, is a total commitment to the other which involves inter-subjectivity, Fidelity, Disponibility, Faith, Hope and Love. It concerns the hidden and the mysterious nature of “being” itself. This type of relationship is predominantly innate to man rather than theoretical. Mysterious in the sense that there is no room for particular involvement, objectification and thingfication of the individual. As opposed to a problematic or problem-solving type of relationship that verifies and lacks involvement.

The nature or content of I-Thou is non-verifiable, rather it is ontologically mysterious. This notion of mystery central to I-Thou, if not given a due consideration, can be devalued by the technocracy of the functionalzed world. Marcel committed himself to the breaking down of such barriers by placing a priority to human values as against the functional values of technology. For a brilliant success in I-Thou relation, there should be a personal commitment to the absolute and eternal Thou. This act of genuine relationship and commitment is possible only when it is rooted in the absolute and unconditioned Thou, God – the giver of I – thou in its fullness.

For Marcel, a lasting relationship must take to heart the above tenets in order to have a clear viewpoint about life as a mystery and not a problem. This work therefore, is an exposition and analysis of his thoughts which suggest an alternative to genuine contemporary relationship.

1.2 CLARIFICATION OF TERMS

In the course of this work, there are some technical terms used by Marcel that are strange and known to the initiated alone. The ‘thou’ of Marcel depicts a partner or the other in relationship. Mystery is not as in theological terms, but as an act of being involved or part of one’s problem than parting away or trying to solve such a situation by any easy method. This is the height of his second reflection. To solve this problem demands a sense of reflection and not thinking alone. Problem is the wrong attitude towards the difficulties confronting me and my partner, which I never wanted to be a part of.

Ontology refers to the idea of “being,” and the value attached to it just by virtue of the fact that one exists. Creative fidelity is that faith, trust, love and hope we have for our beloved ones which does not manifest itself on the plane of physical presence alone, but is also effective in the absence of the other. With such fidelity, the memories of our beloved departed ones are kept in us with passion. It is a nostalgia which reproduces itself especially with our distant loved ones.

The Absolute ‘Thou’ suggests the transcendental God. Availability is translation to the term “Disponibilite”. The ‘functionlized and technological man’ is the man who is used as a means to an end and not as an end itself, the man that is valued for his functional and technological worth and values, for what he does and not for what he is.

The mastery of the above terms will help the readers of this work to follow without much stress and cost.