Marcel+on+Presence+and+Intersubjectivity

=PRESENCE AND INTERSUBJECTIVITY=

Two important Marcellian philosophies are the topics of presence and intersubjectivity. Interactions with other beings, our relationships, and our availability to others are all considered within these two topics. Presence is very closely related to intersubjectivity and the main themes of each overlap quite a lot. Marcel’s investigation of presence and intersubjectivity hoped to reveal to us how we are able to recognize another self, and then once we have recognized them, what that means for us. Throughout his discussions, many other important Marcellian ideas like secondary reflection and availability are used in order to fully conceptualize presence and intersubjectivity. Since presence is the basis of intersubjectivity, it makes sense to begin with a discussion of Marcel’s philosophy of presence first.



Presence
Presence is a very important part of Marcel’s entire philosophy on life and its meaning. Presence is essentially how we recognize another self in a way that cannot be reduced to primary reflection. In order to be present to someone, though, we must be available. (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives…186//). Looking at this basic definition of presence, it is already clear that one must have an understanding of Marcellian terms if one is to fully understand presence. So, briefly, primary reflection is an objective, reductive way to approach a problem that has a solution, and availability is being open and at the disposal of another (//The Mystery of Being//…). Now with this understanding of terms, it is possible to delve deeper into Presence. As mentioned, presence involves how you experience another being. This recognition of another being is a key part of presence, and one that takes some reflection in order to understand. There are billions of people physically present in our world, but only a very small fraction of them will appear as “present,” in the way that Marcel means it. There is an essential quality about presence that makes it different than another human being in the same physical location as us. This essential quality makes more sense once we consider how we recognize that we, ourselves, exist. Marcel rejects Rene Descartes’ idea that “I think, therefore I am” in favor of the immediacy of presence (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 177). This means that we do not need to question the fact that we exist or are present because it is known to us without any mediation. Because we immediately know that we, ourselves exist, without any questioning or though experiments as Descartes would recommend, Marcel says that it also follows logically that other beings must exist as well (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 178). In order to further explain this logic, Marcel says “it is only in so far as I can assert myself to be… that I can acknowledge two facts: firstly, that there is another sense in which I am a somebody, a particular individual, and secondly that other somebodies, other particular individuals exist” (The Mystery of Being… 86). So, since it has been shown that both I and other selves exist, it is possible to explain now just how we experience these other selves. Presence from the very beginning distinguishes itself from a mere physical object. Once we recognize that there is a self in front of us, their being transcends the physical (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 187). Marcel says that “there are certain beings who reveal themselves to us as present… and there are others who don’t give us that feeling… the distinction between presence and non-presence cannot in any way be reduced to the opposition between the fact of being attentive and that of being distracted…. Presence is something that reveals itself immediately in a look, a smile, a tone, a handshake (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 192). Presence from the very beginning distinguishes itself from a mere physical object. Once we recognize that there is a self in front of us, their being transcends the physical (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 187). This is because “the very act by which we incline ourselves toward a presence is essentially different from that through which we grasp an object” (//The Mystery of Being//… 208). Those who are unavailable to us, those who are distracted by their own lives, are unable to be present to us, and are objects to us (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//…192). Although we may not deliberately treat them as objects, because we cannot see the “other” in them, they are not really present to us. Marcel cites the example of a man sitting in a room with us. This man, if he does not make himself present to us, and we don’t make ourselves present to him, will be farther away from us than a loved one who is 1,000s of miles away (//The Mystery of Being//… 206). He might as well not even be in the room because any conversations we may have will remain on a physical, non-transcendent level. According to Marcel, what we have with this person is “communication without communion… he understands what I say to him, but he does not understand //me//” (//The Mystery of Being//…207). When someone is not present to us, we feel that we are not fully ourselves, but when someone //is// present to us, we experience a sort of self-revelation that we could not otherwise have achieved without their being present to us (//The Mystery of Being//… 207). There is also a reciprocity involved in presence, which will lead us into our consideration of intersubjectivity. The other becomes present to us when we are available to them and, in turn, they are available to us. This relationship between two presences is the basis of intersubjectivity.

Intersubjectivity
Intersubjectivity is the shared experience of presence between two selfs (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//… 187). This is one of the most important parts of being to Marcel because it is the only way that we can come to understand God, who is the “ultimate other” (187). The reason that intersubjectivity is the way we are able to transcend this life is because of the way that the mutual recognition of presence changes us. Through intersubjectivity we transcend the labels that society puts on us and we recognize an incalculable inherent value of a person. In Marcel’s words, there is a “we” that emerges that was not there before this intersubjective encounter. Marcel likens this to the way a team transforms from many individuals to one cohesive unit working toward the same goal (//Gabriel Marcel’s Perspectives//…). This team takes on a meaning that is more than the sum of its parts. Another part of intersubjectivity is the I-thou relationship. According to Smith, within intersubjectivity is “the intimate openness of one individual to another, of an I to a thou. It transcends the opposition between self and other by placing two persons in genuine intimacy” (26). The I-thou relationship is a little more difficult to understand because the translation from French is difficult. In French, there are two words for you, a personal you and an impersonal you. Translaters use “thou” instead of a personal French you. So, the I-thou relationship that happens in intersubjectivity is when a person passes from the formal “you” into the informal “you” or what is translated as the “thou.” One remaining question within intersubjectivity and presence is whether this experience is one that lasts after death. Marcel says that because intersubjectivity involves transcendence, it is able to remain after death (//Presence and Immortality// 239). Marcel says that if we interrogate our experience without prejudice, it becomes reasonable to accept that co-presence [also known as intersubjectivity] can remain after death (239). The intersubjective experience goes beyond the physical, so that when a person leaves this earth, they can still be present to us. The relationship is then, not just between two subjects, but within them (Smith 26).

Interesting Links
[|The Gabriel Marcel Society Webpage] [|Existential Primer] [|Marcel the Shell]