Jean-Luc Marion unarguably stands as the leading figure in French phenomenology as well as one of the proponents of the so-called “theological turn” in European philosophy.
In a new book titled “Counter-Experiences: Reading Jean-Luc Marion,” Kevin Hart, a chaired professor in philosophy and literature at the University of Notre Dame, has assembled a stellar group of philosophers and theologians from the United States, Britain, France and Australia to examine Marion’s work — especially from his later years — from a variety of perspectives.
Throughout, the contributors engage key concepts defined by Marion — givenness, the saturated phenomenon, erotic reduction, and counter-experience — and Marion himself concludes with a retrospective essay written in response to criticisms of his work. The resulting volume is an indispensable resource for scholars working at the intersection of philosophy and theology.
“The collective strength of these exceptionally high-quality essays is the authors’ diversity of reflection on the relation of phenomenology to theology,” said Merold Westphal from Fordham University. “Readers new to Marion will find their way into the corpus and those already familiar with Marion’s work will encounter stimulating interpretations, challenges, and defenses. Valuable, too, are Hart’s introduction to Marion as phenomenologist and Marion’s defense of the saturated phenomenon that bookend the volume.”
A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 2002, Hart holds the Notre Dame Chair in Philosophy and Literature.
Originally published by at newsinfo.nd.edu on April 17, 2007.